Time Trap Book 1: What the Future Holds.
by Shoto Man
Summary: Dr. Wily discoveres a way to synthisize the "evil energy" from Mega Man 8, and discovers a new use for it. Can Mega Man and Protoman survive the new threat?
1. Prologue

Mega Man and Mega Man X

  
  


In

  
  


Time Trap

By

  
  


Shoto Man

  
  


Prologue

  
  


21XX A.D...about a year after the events in MMX4...   
  


In a dark, grimy corridor somewhere under the city of Manhattan, a strange purple light emanates. The source of the light reveals itself to be a round, purple vortex made up of the fabric of time and space. From this doorway a robot wearing black armor with purple and grey trimmings, a black helmet with purple fins, and a purple jet pack resembling bat wings, emerges. His face looks like any ordinary human with the exception of the twin battle scars running from his eyes down his cheeks.   
  


Bass looked around the hallway with a sort of grim amusement. "Hmm...Looks like it works. Th' ol' crackpot may be goin' senile, but he can come up with some cool gadgets." The portal closed behind the ebony robot as he started to glow. The light grew so bright that it would have been impossible for anyone to see him in the center of it, had anyone been looking. When the light died off, two figures stood in the hallway. Bass's once purple trimmings were now a startling gold, and the bat wings had disappeared. Next to him was a large, purple, robotic wolf. Bass scratched his companion behind its ears and looked around. "Interesting place we landed, isn't it, Treble?" Treble wasn't listening since Bass found that particular spot at the base of his ears that was wired directly to the pleasure center in his robotic brain. "Seems ta be only an old sewer tunnel, but...Hello, what's this?" 

Bass spotted some sort of symbol painted on the wall. Bass stopped scratching Treble's head to go check it out. When he got up to it, he wiped some dust off that had accumulated on the walls and just looked at it. A rather strange symbol actually. It certainly wasn't the stylized 'W' that was plastered all over Wily's creations. It looked more like an X that had been drawn to look like some sort of deadly beast. "Not exactly somethin' I'd come up with, but...it's sorta cool." Then Bass turned around with a start. He heard voices coming his way! 

"I still don't see why Sigma wanted US to come investigate something as minor as an energy surge," a rather juvenile voice said. "I mean, we're the best Mavericks at his command, and it's not like this is an uncommon occurrence or anything!" 

Bass was too busy trying in vain to find a hiding spot that he didn't stop to ponder at the unknown words and names he heard. 

A voice that sounded like a cross between a rasp, a hiss, and a growl answered. "Well, this one is quite different! Sigma said that this energy surge was the biggest, most unique, and possibly dangerous one he's ever seen. Besides, we were the closest to this spot when the call went out." There was no way to hide, so Bass just stood in the middle of the hallway waiting for the unknown to come to him while charging up his arm cannon. Treble growled as they came nearer. To Bass' surprise, it was two robots. The shorter one was a rotund little fellow wearing yellow armor, but his companion really caught his attention. He was about the same height as Bass, with purple armor with grey trimmings, a rather large cannon mounted on his shoulder, and a purple helmet covering his face that made him look like Boba Fett. He had the same symbol on his head as was on the wall. Both mysterious robots stopped short at the sight of the robot and his dog. "What the...?" the yellow one said in surprise before Bass wrapped his left arm around his neck and pointed his arm cannon at his head. "Now, tell me where I am and how to get out or this yellow banana gets it!" Bass threatened. 

Bass had the impression that the masked one was amused at the situation. "That," he rasped/hiss/growled, "was a big mistake." Suddenly, in a brilliant flash of light, the little one was gone to be replaced by a robot that seemed to be mostly made of some kind of gel. Bass gagged as "Jello Man" reached over and grasped the black and gold robot's neck, then swung his victim around in front of him. "Can I kill 'im, Vile?" he asked with anticipation. 

"No, Double," the one called Vile said, "I don't think he's a hunter. In fact, he may not even be a Reploid." Hunter? Reploid? "What are these things talkin' about?" Bass thought. "Oh?" Double replied, "And what is he?" Vile looked at Bass. "I think he's a 'bioroid', you know, a 'living machine.' Robots with free wills before robots became Reploids. And if he is, we need to study him a little first." 

"And how do you know he's a bioroid?" 

"Just call it a...hunch! We'd better take him to Sigma." Double dropped Bass, and before the black robot could vent his anger on the gelatinous robot, he felt a searing pain coursing throughout his body. After a few seconds, he fell to the ground, seemingly unconscious. Vile and Double both knew, however, that he was awake, but totally paralyzed. Smoke rose lazily from Vile's shoulder cannon. Treble looked at his master on the ground, then looked at Vile. With a huge growl, he was in the air with Vile's death on his mind. He was taken down easily by another shot from Vile. Then Double slung one robot over each shoulder and let Vile lead him down the hallway. 


	2. Bass To the Future

Chapter 1

  
  


Bass to The Future

  
  


20XX A.D. Shortly after the events in MM8...   
  


Dr. Thomas Xavier Light was rather annoyed and he had a migraine. "Rock," he said calmly, "you know I love you like a son, but if you don't get out of here for a few hours, I am going to have a nervous breakdown!" 

The boy he was talking to was in his early teens and had darker-than-midnight black hair. He was wearing a light blue tee shirt and a pair of worn jeans. His feet were covered by a pair of white tennis shoes and the left laces were untied. "Okay, Doc. I think I'll take ol' Rush and go into town. See ya!" Dr. Light let out a sigh as Rock ran out of the room with his dog, Rush at his heels. On his way out, Rock almost mowed down a blonde teenage girl wearing a red dress with black sleeves. 

"Hey, Rock!" She said, clearly annoyed. "Watch where yer goin'!" 

"Sorry, Roll!" Rock said with a grin as he ran out of the house, but Roll could tell that he wasn't the least bit apologetic. 

Dr. Light sighed again. It had only been a few weeks since Rock stopped the latest mad scheme hatched by the nefarious Dr. Wily. Then Wily managed to get a super powerful energy source from a meteorite and incorporate it into his latest bunch of Robot Masters. A robot from outer space had appeared about then and was destroying any of this energy he could get. Rock had defeated the Robot Masters and Bass who, with his dog Treble, had interfaced with this energy. Mega Man defeated Dr. Wily, but his fortress exploded. It was a mystery as to how Rock survived, but it was doubtful that Bass and Wily were so lucky. Ever since then, he had been much more restless than usual. Dr. Light was startled out of his musings by the sound of the doorbell. "That's right!" he cried, slapping his head. "I was expecting Cossack and his daughter any minute!" Then he ran to the front door to greet his friends with Roll.   
  


********

  
  


Somewhere in space, on an orbit around the moon, floated an incredibly foreboding space station. At least, it would be foreboding if anyone could see it. It was equipped with the best cloaking technology known to man, and it wouldn't be seen unless its owner decided to let it be seen. 

Inside the topmost chamber of the Space Node, on a small stool and working on the machinery scattered on the table before him, sat the all too alive Albert Wily. Behind him stood Bass. Treble was at his feet begging to get his belly scratched, but Bass studiously ignored him. "Alright, Doc," Bass said with more than a touch of annoyance in his voice. "What have you dragged me and Treble all the way up here for?" 

Wily spun around with a glowing purple orb in his right hand. "This!" he shouted triumphantly. "I have done it! I have successfully created synthetic 'Evil Energy!'" Bass was actually stunned into silence by that. Evil Energy was the alien energy source that Wily used to power his latest Robot Masters. They had all fallen to Mega Man's arm cannon like all the others before it and the only trace of it left resided in Bass and Treble. "Not only that, but I've rebuilt all of my newest Robot Masters!" Bass looked around at the eight forms around the lab, covered with white sheets. 

"Okay, Doc, that is a nifty thing you've accomplished there, but I have the feeling that isn't the only reason you called me up here." 

"Ah, Bass. You truly are my greatest robot. Other than Zero, of course." Bass winced slightly at that. Zero was more than a robot. He was a new breed and Bass considered him to be his little brother. Zero got put into a stasis capsule last week and wasn't going to be reactivated for a good forty years. "You're right, of course," Wily went on. "I did call here for more than that. I have discovered a few interesting qualities of this energy. First, it seems that integrating with it has turned you and Treble into 'bioroids'--Living Machines. Second, I believe that it could be used to open rifts in the very fabric of time and space." 

` Bass wasn't too surprised about any of that. He expected that the nature of this alien energy would be capable of anything. But he pretended to be surprised anyway, for the scientist's sake. "Ya mean, like travelin' to other dimensions and stuff?" he asked with just the right amount of awe. 

"More like time travel. In fact, I've already developed a chip to enable you to not only create these corridors, but control where and when you will end up." Wily held up a small microchip. Now, give me your left hand. The one with your teleporter controls." Bass did so, allowing Wily to install the thing. "The controls are very similar to the controls of your teleporter system," Wily said after he was done. "I'm sure you'll get it on your first try. Now, I want you to go to this time and place." Wily pointed to a year and coordinates on the screen of the computer that was also on the table he was working on. 

Bass whistled. "Woah, Doc, that's quite a way into the future!" 

"I know," Wily answered with a grin. "That time period is sure to have some sort of advanced technology we could use. I want you to go and see if there is anything in that time period we could use to destroy Mega Man and take over the world." 

Bass didn't say anything else to Wily. He just called Treble to him. Treble knew what Bass wanted, so he leaped into the air, changed shape, and, after a blinding burst of energy. Bass stood alone, wearing what was known as the "Super Adaptor"(which he needed to use the Evil Energy stored within his body). Afterwards, he punched in a sequence of numbers in his teleportation controls, hidden in his left wrist. Then a glowing, purple doorway appeared in front of him. Bass stepped into the portal and then it closed behind him.   
  


Bass returned five minutes later--and by then, Wily had already activated Grenade Man, Frost Man, Tengu Man, Clown Man, Astro Man, Aqua Man, Sword Man, and Search Man. "Well?" Wily asked somewhat annoyed, when he noticed that Bass left the portal open behind him. 

"I think I met someone you should probably meet, Doc. In fact, he has a proposition that you might find rather beneficial to your conquest of the world." Wily's interest got sparked immediately. 

"Go on..." 

"Well, this guy wants you and the new Robot Masters to go...bargain." Wily almost leaped into the portal right then, but Bass stopped him. "Wait a sec! Wait a sec! This is your kind guy, all right, but he just might get you fried if you try ta go through that thing by your lonesome. Get in that egg-shaped flying saucer of yours and then go through." 

"Yes, that makes sense, Bass," Wily admitted when he went to his craft. 

As they flew off, Bass yelled after them, "Don't worry if I don't follow right behind you! I've got something I need to do here.   
  


*********

  
  


Rock sauntered lazily down the busy sidewalk in the middle of downtown New York, with Rush pulling on his end of the leash as hard as he could. "Now, what is there left to do," he thought to himself. He had already gone to the local arcades and conquered every game there. Rock looked at the frisbee he was holding. "I guess that I could go to the park and play catch with Rush." Rock wondered again at how much Rush looked like a "real" dog with his holographic camouflage on. After all, Rush wasn't a real dog any more than Rock was a human. He was a robot. A Reploid to be exact. One of the only three in the world (Well, maybe four. He didn't know if Bass was one or not.). The other two were Roll and... 

"Hey, bro!" a voice came from behind Rock, who spun around to face his attacker and gasped in shock. He was looking at his own face, grinning at him. Then, his "twin" doubled over laughing. "Oh, man. You should have seen your face! It was a classic. Rock glared at the figure in front of him. 

"That's enough, Hadrian!" he said. Hadrian Blues stopped laughing, with a few hiccups erupting from his lips. "Ya know, ya c'n really annoy somebody." Rock grumbled to his brother. 

Hadrian brought a pair of mirrored sunglasses from his leather coat pocket and put them on his face to cover his eyes. Rock studied his older brother for probably the thousandth time since he met him years ago. His face was exactly like Rock's, but that was where the similarity ended. His choice of cloths was much different. He always wore a pair of sunglasses, a leather jacket (even if its the middle of summer, like it was now), and black jeans with black tennis shoes. He also always had a yellow scarf around his neck. 

"Aw, c'mon Little Rocky Horror, ya know that's what I live for. So, what are you and your mutt doing out and about in the city, anyway?" 

Rock was about to answer that it wasn't any of his business when the two of them got knocked over by a small explosion created by a plasma shot hitting the sidewalk behind them. The two Bioroids spun around to face their attacker and found Bass, in his Super Adaptor, grinning sardonically at them. "Wha...?" Rock gasped in amazement. "Y-y-you're supposed ta be.." 

"What, dead?" Bass interrupted, obviously amused. "Not in this lifetime, bucko! In fact all our last experience did for me was give me an itchier trigger finger; if y'know what I mean." Rock did know what he meant, and he did what any sensible unarmed person would do when faced against an enemy as powerful as this one. He ran. Fast. With Hadrian less than a step behind. 

"Hey! Wait...a minute!" Hadrian panted. "Why...not...just transform...to ...you-know-...who and....fry this sucker?" 

"Because...too many...humans are...still...watching...If the press...found out who I was...I wouldn't be able to...get an ounce of peace!" 

"Yeah...and if he catches you..." Hadrian pointed to the ebony clad robot behind them. "You'll get more peace than you'll really want!" 

"Good point." Rock admitted as he ducked a bolt of plasma. Then he spotted an abandoned alleyway. "This way!" he yelled to his brother as he dove in. The alleyway was a dead end, but no one was on the sidewalk on their side of the street, and a large semi truck was blocking the view from the other side. Just as Bass spotted them, Rock and Hadrian began to glow. The glow began at their feet and worked its way up to their heads. When the nimbus of light died down, the two brothers who had been standing there disappeared. In their places were two robots, both famous the world over. 

Rock was now wearing the blue armor and helmet that identified him as Mega Man. Hadrian was wearing red and white armor almost exactly like his brother, but his helmet had a dark visor, he had a welding shield strapped to his back, and he still wore the yellow scarf. Hadrian had become Protoman. 

The two instantly began charging up their arm cannons as Bass started firing at them. Mega Man hid behind Protoman, who protected the both of them with his Proto Shield. When they had charge sufficiently, they fired large balls of plasma at their opponent. When the bolts hit Bass, he was lost in the middle of a large explosion of light and sound. When he could be seen again, his chest was smoking and he was laughing hard. "Is that the best you can do? Now, here's a good shot!" 

Bass began to glow with a purple light, then he released a huge purple beam at his enemies, which was barely dodged. Mega Man was about to attempt to tackle Bass, but Bass took a remote control out of his belt and pushed a button on it. The side of the truck behind him opened up to reveal two forms bound and one of them was gagged. "Roll and Doc Light!" Mega Man screamed as he saw them. Roll was bound by metal cords and she was gagged with a sock stuffed in her mouth. Dr. Light was tied up with ropes of a more regular variety, and Mega Man saw blood dripping down his face from somewhere in his white hair. Mega Man looked away from his family and glared at Bass, hate showing clearly in his face as he did so. "You'd better let them go you..." 

"What and spoil the fun?" Bass said with a smile as he stepped into the truck. As he did so a circular vortex of energy appeared behind his captives. Bass picked Roll up with one hand. "This is your sister, ain't it, Mega Man? Annoying as heck...I had to stuff a sock in her mouth to shut her up!" He threw Roll into the door he created and she disappeared without a trace. Then he picked up Dr. Light just as easily. "Oh, and say good bye to 'daddy.'" he said nonchalantly as he threw him in as well. "Noooooo!" Mega Man cried. He leaped into the warp before he even realized what he was doing. Rush followed his master. 

"Rock! Don't go in there!" Protoman cried as he leaped in after his younger brother. Bass didn't say a word. He just stepped into the portal before it disappeared completely. 


	3. Gettin' Rid o' Zero's Blues

Chapter 2

  
  


Gettin' rid o Zero's Blues

  
  


21XX A.D. 

"I can't believe it!" Mega Man X yelled out loud. He slammed his fist into the end table next to the couch he was sitting on. "I just can't believe it! They made another touchdown! There goes the ten bucks I bet on the other team." The last part was muttered under his breath. X looked nothing like what the public saw. He wore no helmet, letting his black hair do that wave it alleyways did. He also had a light blue tee shirt on with the sleeves torn of and a pair of Levis which were torn at the knees. He looked down at his worn out tennis shoes and wandered how it was that he could never keep his left shoe tied. 

"What're ya watchin'?" If the voice that sounded from behind him without warning surprised him, X didn't show it. 

"Hi, Zero. I'm watchin' my ten buck go down the drain is what I'm watchin'. Wanna join me?" X took a glance at his friend. Zero stood behind the old couch X was on and looked ready to go out. His crimson armor was shining from the glare of the overhead lights, his gelded helmet was on, pushing his knee length blonde hair out of his face, and his Beam Saber was strapped to his back. He looked ready for battle except for one thing. He didn't have that spark of liveliness that he seemed to posses in all the years that X had known him. 

"No, I'm goin' out on patrol," Zero answered, not an ounce of emotion in his voice. 

"Aw, c'mon, Zero! It's our day off," X pointed out. Then he added, "Besides, the Mavericks haven't attacked for months--over a year!" 

Zero just gave his friend a sidelong look before heading out the door to their living quarters. X sighed, then turned the television off. He suddenly didn't feel like watching Football any more--he would find out how the game went the next morning anyway. "Zero," he thought to himself. "There's been a major change in you from the Zero I knew for years." 

X thought back to when he first met Zero. Back then, X was constantly falling into serious states of depression. He had no memory of his past--all he knew was that he was created by the late Dr. Thomas Xavier Light--and he felt responsible for all of the damage being done by the Mavericks, Reploids bent to the destruction of the human race. If Dr. Cain hadn't found X in that stasis capsule, then Reploids wouldn't be created; much less go Maverick. Sigma was leading the Maverick hunters back then and they had been kept more or less in check, but X felt guilty anyway. 

Then came Zero. X was sitting at a table in the cafeteria set up for the human Hunters deep in one of his depressions when the "Crimson Dynamo" appeared with his "cooler than thou" attitude and his cache of insults. That brought X out of his depression and straight to annoyance and then anger. The two Reploids got involved in a fierce fist fight then and there. Zero would have won if the fight hadn't been broken up by Storm Eagle and Spark Mandrill (two of the top Hunters who worked directly with Sigma himself). They got taken to Dr. Cain, who made them roommates as their punishment. 

Well, there was something about having to put up with each other "twenty-four seven" that made the two tolerate each other and, eventually, become inseparable. Dr. Cain decided that putting those two together was a good idea. X went into his depressions much less and even began having fun. Then, everyone's worst nightmare came true. Sigma went Maverick, and he took a good portion of the Hunters with him. 

X then decided to go out, one Reploid among many, to try to defeat this threat. He didn't even get past Vile. Luckily, Zero saved his hide and X managed to eventually defeat Sigma's eight Maverick Masters. At Sigma's fortress, Vile managed to capture Zero and defeat X. Zero ended up sacrificing himself so the other Reploid could stop Sigma. X did defeat Sigma, but ended up wandering if it was worth it. 

Six months later, a new group of Mavericks started terrorizing the world. By now, X became the leader of the Hunters and he, of course, went to stop the threat. In the midst of battle, X came across three new Mavericks called the "X Hunters". They each one of Zero's body parts and X managed to win them, revive his friend, and defeat Sigma, who was alive and well. 

X and Zero became partners once again and together won two more wars against the Mavericks. But at the most recent one, almost a year ago, Zero lost a friend--Iris, a female Reploid. X figured that Zero loved her or something because he took her death especially hard and he never came close to getting over it. "The irony of the situation just kills me," X thought. "When we met all those years ago, I was moody and depressed and you pulled me right out of it. Well, now it's my turn." 

X was brought out of his musing by the blaring of the telephone on the end table next to his couch. "X here," he said cheerfully into the receiver. "Doc Cain?...Their finished?...That's great!....Well, no. He went out. I think I know where he is, though...I'm goin' right now....Yeah, see ya soon, Doc." With that X hung up the phone and disappeared through the doorway in less than a second.   
  


********

  
  


Meanwhile, deep under the city, hidden among abandoned subway tunnels, sewer drains, and other such hidden catacombs, two feline-like Reploids sat at a beat up old card table playing poker. Neon Tiger put his hand of cards face up on the table. "Full House! Beat that, sucker!" 

Slash Beast looked at his companion's cards for a second, then placed his hand. "Four Aces. Guess I did beat it, huh?" 

Neon Tiger stared at the cards on the table with his jaw dropped. Then he glared at Slash Beast as he collected all the chips. "Hey, you cheated!" 

Slash Beast looked at Neon Tiger with an amused grin on his face. "What makes ya say that?" 

"THESE!!" Energy claws unsheathed themselves from the slots on Neon Tiger's wrists. 

Slash Beast knocked the table over, showed Tiger his own claws, and growled, "Don't even GO there!" 

There would have been a heavy, heavy fight right then and there if Neon Tiger didn't stop suddenly and ask Slash Beast, "Did you hear something?" 

"No I...Waitaminute!! Someone's coming!" By now the sound of metallic footsteps could be heard coming toward the felines. "HALT, who goes there?!!" Slash Beast yelled out with just a slight crack in his voice. 

"And what's the password?" Neon Tiger added. 

Vile appeared from the shadows followed by "Jello Man" (what all the Mavericks call Double's true form when Double himself is out of earshot), who had a humanoid robot and a robo-wolf draped over his shoulders. "I don't have time for this crap!" Vile screeched. He turned to Neon Tiger, who visibly shrank beneath his superior's glare. "Now, let me IN!!!" 

"Y,y,y,yes sir, Mr. Vile, sir!" a now meek Neon Tiger stuttered as he hit the sequence code that opened the door. Vile--inwardly smiling at the fear he inspired in his companions--stormed through the doorway, followed by Double. 

On the other side of the door was a large room that was a complete turnaround from the hallway Vile and Double were just in. While the hallway was made completely of brick and seemed to be falling apart, this room was a well-kept, high-tech, laboratory. Standing across the room from the two Reploids, working on the keypad in front of a huge monitor, was a rather tall Reploid with white hair and a lab coat covering his armor. "Hey, Dr. Dee!" Vile called out to the Reploid, who turned around with annoyance clearly etched in his face. 

"Vile, I told you not to call me that!" Dr. Doppler said to the Violet One. "Sometimes I wonder about the wisdom of rebuilding you--AGAIN." Doppler turned back to his keypad, without looking back at Vile. Doppler was the only Reploid (besides Sigma, of course) that didn't fear Vile. Sometimes it amused him, sometimes it irritated him. 

"Yeah, yeah, I've heard this whole thing before," Vile said with a roll of his eyes, even though no one saw the gesture. "Now, could you be a good scientist and call Sigma for me? I've got something here that he might just be interested in seeing. Double, you can drop them now." 

Double gladly got rid of his cargo. "Gee, those things are heavier than they look," he complained. "Why did I have to carry them any--" Double stopped as soon as he saw Vile's shoulder cannon aimed at him. Double quickly changed back to his "regular" form and started to back away from Vile towards the doorway. "Oh, I see. Well, I think I left the iron on in my room. See ya!" Then he was out of the door as fast as he could. 

Vile grinned as he watched the little Reploid go. He would never actually hurt the little guy. Double was one of the few Mavericks that Vile liked and respected. "Was that little stunt really necessary?" a cold voice asked behind him. Vile turned and saw one of the few things that struck fear in his mechanical heart. On the huge screen, reaching from almost the floor to the ceiling, was the face of the center of all the Mavericks. Sigma. 

"Oh, ah, I was only teasing the little guy." Vile managed to stutter. "Besides, I kinda need to talk to you"--Vile glared at Dr. Doppler, who was watching Vile's terrified reaction with not a little amusement--"ALONE!" 

Sigma looked at his second in command, then looked at the robots that were crumpled on the floor. Finally he said, "Oh, all right. Doppler please leave me so I could talk to Vile privately." The request was made with nothing but politeness, not a hint of threat in the words. But there was something about the way he SAID those words that made Doppler want to get out of the room as fast a he could. Sigma studied the two forms on the floor more carefully. Vile could see a grin--or was it a sneer?--form on the images face. 

"Vile, you have stumbled upon a rather interesting discovery. I recognize them." 

"HUH!?!?" Vile was suddenly very surprised. "How could you recognize 'em!? _I've_ never seen 'em!" 

"Didn't you study your history, FOOL?! These are possibly the most evil, deranged, and powerful creations built during the Wily Wars! These robots are..." Sigma paused for dramatic effect then continued slowly; "Bass...and...Treble!" Vile gasped as he looked at the two robots with newfound respect. 

Bass started to stir. Slowly he opened his eyes and saw the face on the huge computer screen. "What the...!?!" Bass gasped as he jumped to his feet. 

"Relax," Sigma said to the little black robot. "We're on the same side. In fact, I believe we could be of help to each other. Let's...bargain, shall we?" 

"Uh, I guess so," Bass said, stunned. He didn't notice Treble wake up. 

Sigma smiled. "Good, then let us begin..."   
  


*********

  
  


X flew from the Maverick Hunter Headquarters garage on his hover bike and punched up the speed even more. "Yeah, I know where Zero went," he thought to himself. "It's the same place he goes every time he goes on 'patrol.'" 

X turned and waved at some of the humans who were watching him go with open admiration in their eyes. X now looked like the hero all the humans knew and loved. His blue armor was gleaming in the sunlight, his green eyes were watching everything from under his helmet, and he had a look of determination about him that only true heroes ever seem to adopt. Only, instead of being determined to win a war, this time, he was determined to get his best friend back. 

It didn't take X long to reach his destination; ten minutes at most. He parked his bike next to one identical to his and got off. Standing about ten feet away from him, X could see the back of his friend. This spot was where Magma Dragoon let the Sky Lagoon drop into the city. The Sky Lagoon was a Hunter base; a flying fortress. Zero saved Iris from certain destruction at this spot. There was now a plaque built into the sidewalk commemorating all the humans and Reploids who lost there lives here and Zero considered it Iris' grave. 

"Leave me alone, X," Zero said without turning around as X approached. 

"'Fraid I can't," X said. "Y'see, I'm not about to abandon my best friend in his hour of need." Zero turned partway and glared at X out the corner of his eye. 

"X, I'm not in the mood for this." 

X kept his face and voice deadly serious. "I don't care. I've got something back at the headquarters that you just might be interested in seeing." 

Zero turned back to the plaque. "X, I'm not in the mood for surprises. Now, I ask you again, leave me alone!" 

X grinned. "Zero, if yer not coming with me, I'll just bug you until ya do." 

"Do your worst." X's grin got even wider.   
  


****************

  
  


Bass had now fully recovered from the shock he had been given and could now see that Wily really would like this Sigma character. "Are you sure you know what to do?" Sigma asked as Bass (in his Super Adaptor) created another time warp. 

Bass turned to the computer screen and said, "Don't worry your little head, Siggy. I'll fulfill my part of the deal if you do yours." With that, he was gone. Vile watched him go with a great deal of respect mingled with amusement. No one, Vile included, EVER corrupted the name of Sigma when he was in earshot. NEVER. Sigma simply glared at the spot the warp had been for a second, then recovered his composure when it opened again. 

Emerging from the warp, instead of Bass, was a blue and yellow craft resembling an egg and eight robots. No sooner did the warp close than it opened again and Bass came out of it again. The egg opened and an old man with a mustache and wild hair coming out of the sides of his head stepped out, then stopped, with his mouth gaped open. 

"Greetings Dr. Albert Wily," Sigma greeted. "I am Sigma and I believe our goals are very similar. I have summoned you here to make a deal. If you help me conquer my time period, I will help you conquer yours." 

Wily got over his shock and peered at the pixilated face on the computer screen. "How do I know I could trust you?" he accused. 

Sigma simply answered, "You don't." 

Wily grinned. "My kind of guy. So...what do you want me to do..?"   
  


***************

  
  


X cheerfully led a blindfolded Zero down one of the halls in Hunter HQ. "I don't know how I let you talk me into this," Zero grumbled. 

X chuckled. "Just relax, Zero. You'll thank me for this. Trust me." Zero just mumbled something incoherent. "Here we are," X announced. Zero heard the distinct noise of an automatic gate opening, then felt X lead him in. Then his blindfold was ripped off his face and he was blinded by the light that invaded his optic sensors. When he could see again he gasped. Standing in front of him was a female Reploid about a half a foot shorter than himself. She had brown hair done up in a pony tail that went down almost to her waist and wore red armor. Standing in front of Zero was....Iris! 


	4. When Worlds Collide

Chapter 3

  
  


"When Worlds Collide!"

  
  


Iris took a look at Zero and laughed, loud and hard. "Zero, could you close your mouth?" she gasped. "You look like a fish!" 

Zero closed his mouth and finally got over the shock enough to notice his surroundings. It was a standard issue Maverick Hunter Robotics Lab, recently cleaned out of all the useless and irreparably damaged parts. Standing behind Iris was an old man. He was bald as a que ball, but he had a full white beard. He was leaning on a wooden cain. Next to the old man was a tall Reploid with yellow armor. This was Colonel, another Reploid Zero hadn't expected to see. Finally, Zero looked at Iris again, ran over to her, and gave her a bear hug that lifted the surprised Reploid right off the ground. "OhmanIdon'tbeleivethisImissedyousomutch!" Zero rattled on happily. 

X leaned against the wall and watched his friend with a small smile. This was the first time in almost a year that X saw Zero smile, much less get excited over anything. Zero finally put the dazed Iris down and looked over to Dr. Cain. "How..?" was all he managed to say. 

Dr. Cain chuckled. "I think you should ask X," he answered with a grin. 

At Zero's inquiring look, X went into his story: "Well, as you may or may not remember, Zero, I had to lead a team of Hunters up to the spot the 'Final Weapon' exploded to evaluate casualties, assess damages, as to salvage any usable material." 

"I sorta remember," Zero said when X paused. 

X grinned. "Well, while we were up there, I discovered an exceptionally large chunk of melted steel. Upon investigation, I found that it was hollow. Well, it was an easy matter to cut a hole in it large enough for me ta get through. Inside, I found a small section of the fortress that actually wasn't too badly damaged; and guess what two items of interest I found floating around in there." 

Dr. Cain continued for X. "X brought the remains of Colonel and Iris here and asked me if I could revive them like I did you. I examined them and figured that I probably could, but they were much more damaged than you were when I had to revive you. It took me six months to repair their bodies, but that was the easy part. I spent the remaining six months running tests to make sure that they were actually Colonel and Iris." 

"What do ya mean, doc?" Zero asked Dr. Cain. 

"I mean that I repairing them and activating them could have resulted in different Reploids in the same bodies. Remember, Zero, every Reploid has their own unique personalities." 

"Oh," Zero replied. 

"Well, it was a long shot, but we're here," Colonel said, cheerfully. 

"Yes," Zero agreed, "You're here. Especially you, Iris." Then he had her in another bear hug. 

X casually sauntered over to Dr. Cain and Colonel. "I think we'd better split before they kiss or somethin'," he whispered just loud enough for them to hear. Then he looked up and added, "Oops, too late!"   
  


********

  
  


"What I want you to do, Wily," Sigma said, "is build me a new body!" 

Wily looked a little surprised at that. "That's all?!! Of course I could do it, but why do you want ME? Couldn't HE build you one?" Wily pointed to Dr. Doppler, who seemed to shrink when Sigma glanced at him. 

"He already has," Sigma replied. "And it got destroyed by my worst enemies, X and Zero!" 

Sigma had Wily's full attention now. "Did you say 'Zero?'" Bass asked. 

"Yes," Sigma answered. "Why would you be interested in him?" 

"No reason," Bass replied casually, but, deep inside, he began to wonder. 

Sigma turned to Wily. "You've had a reputation for building the biggest, most deadly war machines ever. No one had been able to build better before or since." Wily seemed to glow with pride at that. "Dr. Doppler will take a few days to show you how our technology works. In fact, he is rebuilding the last few Reploids needed for our army and he could use one of them as an object lesson." Doppler's face darkened a little. Surely Sigma didn't expect HIM to work with a human. Sigma continued. "I want my body done in three weeks." 

"Three weeks?" Wily asked in curiosity. "I could easily build a body for you in three weeks, but why do you need it then?" 

Sigma sneered. "It's a surprise; isn't it, Bass?" 

Bass was almost out of the room with Treble when Sigma asked the question. He just gave Sigma a sidelong glance when he answered, "Yeah, whatever." Then he was out the door.   
  


************

  
  


Several days later, Wily practically ran through the door to Sigma's computer lab. Dr. Doppler was tending the computers that Sigma inhabited, as usual, and the two scientists glared at each other for a few seconds. Sigma was actually amused at the competition the two seemed to have developed. 

"I did it!" Wily shouted triumphantly to the face on the screen. "I have DONE IT!" 

Sigma noticed the CD Wily was holding but he asked anyway. "You've done what?" 

Wily hurriedly installed the disk and replied, "I finished the schematics for your new body is what I've done! Look for yourself!" Sigma's face was replaced by schematics for a deadly robot. Even Dr. Doppler had to admit it was the best Sigma body he had ever seen. The schematics shrank down to the bottom left corner of the screen and Sigma could be seen again. "I must say, this is a most impressive body. It has my approval. I want you to get started right away!" 

Wily was out of the room in seconds. "Why do you put up with that...human?" Dr. Doppler had to ask. 

"Because he is a useful human," Sigma answered. "At least for now..." 

Bass was finishing up patrolling the halls with Treble and Vile, and were at the vertical passage that led up to the only hall to Sigma's computer lab when the hidden elevator in the wall opened up and Wily ran from the elevator down the hall at full speed. "Woah, what's his rush!" Bass asked to no one in particular. 

Vile leaned against the wall and answered, "I dunno." In the few days Bass had been in this particular time period, he and Vile became best pals. 

"Vile, I got a question for ya," Bass said casually. "What's this vertical passage for anyway?" 

Vile grinned. "I think it's Sigma's last defense against intruders." 

"Seems rather pointless to me," Bass said. 

Vile grinned. "Ta tell the truth, so do I." Vile paused for a second and said, "Race ya to the top...the hard way!" 

"You're on!" Bass said, and in seconds the two were climbing up the wall, leaving Treble to curl up in a ball and sleep in his favorite dark corner.   
  


***********

  
  


Weeks passed and X was pleased to find that his old friend Zero had returned. Now X, Zero, Colonel, and Iris were taking four hover bikes and were patrolling the city for Mavericks. None of them took it very serious, however, and Zero and Iris thought of it more as a date than anything else. 

X pulled up next to Colonel. "Think they're havin' fun yet?" he asked as he pointed to the Reploids in front of him. 

"Definitely," Colonel answered. 

Any other friendly conversation was shattered as Iris shouted "Look out!" X looked ahead of him and saw a circular vortex of purple energy right in front of him. He and Colonel veered just before they flew into it. Every one got off their bikes and examined the vortex closely. Before anyone could say "Hey!" two robots, about four feet tall, and one Robo-Dog fell on X and Zero. Everyone looked at the two newcomers in surprise and forgot all about the portal as it disappeared. 

X pushed the blue robot off of himself as Zero did the same to the red one and the dog. "What's the big idea?" X asked the blue one. Then he got a good look at his face. 

"Hey! You look like me!" they said together. "I look like you?! You look like me!" 

Protoman put a restraining hand on his brother's shoulder. "Hey bro, chill out!" 

"Yeah, X. Don't blow up or anythin'!" Zero said to his friend. 

"Protoman, how can I 'chill out' with an obvious fake in front of me!" Mega Man almost screamed. 

"I'M the fake?!?!" X screamed. "You're the fake!!" 

"Look, all I know is that we were fighting Bass, he made a portal of some kind, threw my creator and my sister inside, and we ended up here!" 

Protoman suddenly got suspicious. He walked over and elbowed Zero in the ribs. "Hey buddy," he said, "what year is this?" 

"About 21XX, why?" Zero replied. 

Protoman would have gone pale if robots could. "Five minutes ago it was 20XX!!" 

"What?!?!" Zero exclaimed. "That was almost fifty years ago!" 

"Exactly!" Protoman answered. Zero and Protoman looked at Mega Man and X arguing, then looked back at each other. "Should we?" Protoman asked with a grin. 

"Definitely," Zero answered with a grin of his own. 

Seconds later X and Mega Man was on the ground with Zero and Protoman pinning them down respectively. "What's goin' on here!?!?!?" X and Mega Man yelled simultaneously. 

"Relax, Rock," Protoman said to his brother. "He's not a fake!" 

"And neither is he!" Zero said to X. 

X spoke both his and Mega Man's mind when he said, "All right then, what happened?" 

"We got sucked forward in time!" Protoman answered. 

"What!!!" X and Mega Man screamed. 

A few minutes later introductions were all made and Protoman explained what happened to himself and Mega Man. "So, if Dr. Light and Roll got thrown in before you guys," X asked, "then why aren't they here?" 

Mega Man looked at the ground, shame showing clearly on his face. "I don't know." 

"Are ye sure it was Bass that created that portal?" Zero asked. 

"Of course," Mega Man answered. "How do you know him?" 

"Well," Zero said sheepishly. "I never told anyone this but..." 

"Guys," Iris interrupted. "We've got bigger problems than that right at this moment." 

"Oh, yeah?" X asked. "Like what?" 

Protoman pointed down a street behind him. "Like that," he said casually. Gathering a short distance away were a bunch of humanoid robots whose designs were seemingly based on animals. "Mavericks!" X gasped. 

"....And that..." Protoman continued pointing down another street. "...And that!" The little group of robots were all surrounded by Mavericks. 

"Oh, crap!" was all X could say. 


	5. Mindless Slugfest

Chapter 4 

  


Mindless Slugfest 

  
  


Dr. Doppler grinned evilly. He was watching two monitors; one showing the block where X and his friends were being ambushed by the half of the Maverick army led by Double, the other showing the Hunter base, where Vile was leading the other half. "They don't stand a chance!" he thought to himself. 

"Hey, what's goin' on here?!" a voice suddenly asked. Doppler groaned, shut off the monitors, and turned to face his challenger. It was Bass, followed closely by Doppler's nemesis, Dr. Wily. 

"What were you doing?" Wily asked with suspicion in his voice. 

Doppler scowled. "None o' your business!" Then he saw the hovering platform following Wily and Bass. On top of it was something huge covered with a large sheet. "What is that?" 

Wily grinned. "Sigma's body," he replied smugly. "Now call him up!" 

Dr. Doppler grumbled incoherently, but he called up the image of the Maverick leader anyway. "Have you finished it?" Sigma asked even though he knew the answer. 

"Of course," Wily grinned as he hooked various wires and cables from the computer equipment to the robot under the sheet. 

Before Wily could say more, though, one of Bass' now-familiar Time-portals appeared and flying through it came two figures. "Right on time," Bass smirked as he checked his internal chronometer. 

Wily didn't even think to ask about his curious statement. He could only stare at the people on the floor. Of course, he recognized them both. "Xavier, what are you and your housekeeper doing here?" he had to ask. 

"Because I invited them," Sigma's voice answered directly behind him. Wily spun to see a green and grey robot wearing a flowing red cape grinning at him; or rather at the two "guests" on the floor. "Welcome!" the robot boomed. "I've been expecting you!"   


  


******* 

  
  


The Mavericks had X and his friends totally surrounded. The seven robots had their backs against each other as they formed a rough circle. Protoman had his Proto Shield off his back and in a defensive position as he, Mega Man, and X formed their arm cannons and began charging up their own versions of the Mega Buster. Zero and Colonel each had a Beam Saber in their hands as they glared at the Mavericks. Iris wasn't armed, but she was in a stance that indicated that she was a master at hand to hand combat. Rush was next to his master as he growled at the evil Reploids. 

"Yep," Zero muttered to himself. "This is a problem." 

"No, really?" X said with a mocking tone in his voice. "What was your first clue?" 

Mega Man grinned. "That's probably what I would have said," he thought to himself. 

Colonel spoke up. "Why haven't they attacked us yet?!?!" 

A new voice startled them all by saying, "Because I haven't ordered them to yet!" Everyone spun to face the new voice. "Jello Man" stepped out from the crowed and strolled to the little group as if he had all day. X glared at him and his eyes began to glow with a red light. Jello Man looked at X as if he was meeting an old friend that he hadn't seen in years. "X, what a pleasant surprise to see you again!" 

X gave Double an almost evil grin. "Pleasure's all yours...JELLO MAN!" 

The wide smile on Double's face seemed to tighten slightly. "Really, X. I would have thought that name calling was beneath you." X answered by blasting Double full in the face with a fully charged X Buster shot, knocking the Maverick to the ground. Double got to his feet with a scowl openly showing on his face. "Get them," he growled through clenched teeth. Then he added, "But X is mine!" 

Like a giant wave, the Mavericks, along with their hundreds and hundreds of robot drones, rushed toward the small group of robots. They were careful to leave X alone. 

Double formed an energy blade from a slot in his wrist, much like Zero's Beam Saber, but X knew about these avoided them easily. After a few seconds of dodging his adversary's wild slashes, X found an opening and blasted him. Double fell to the ground screaming as smoke rose from his side where X shot him. He rose from the ground with an evil grin on his face. "You've gotten to be an even better fighter than before, X," he said with leering in his voice. "But so have I!" Suddenly he thrust both hands forward, palms out, and a huge laser beam erupted from both hands. X wasn't expecting this attack because Double didn't have it last time he battled him, so he caught the beams full in the chest. He landed with a clang, smoke rising from his chest. Almost as a reflex action, he ran a systems check. No major damage had been cased. "But, dang that hurt!" X thought as he stumbled to his feet. "Puts me in just the right mood to take this creep down and out!" X then leaped into the fray. 

Colonel and Zero were doing okay for themselves. Most of the Mavericks attacked them in particular, but they had their backs to each other and managed to keep a small circle around them free of Maverick Masters, but the Mavericks just shot their weapons at the two. "Watch it!!" Zero cried as he deflected a Boomerang-shaped weapon with his saber. "That thing's sharp!" Then he tapped the side of his helmet. "Hey Doc Cain!" he yelled into his communicator. "We've been attacked by Mavericks an' we need reinforcements, NOW!!!" 

Zero heard Dr. Cain's voice emanate from a set of miniature speakers inside his helmet. "I can't, Zero! We've been attacked as well, and it's taking every last Hunter we've got to fend them of!" 

"Crap!" 

Mega Man and Protoman did okay at first and managed to stay together, but then they got separated in the chaos and the only ally in Mega Man's line of sight was Rush. "Crap!" he exclaimed as he narrowly avoided plasma blasts from several Moth Bots at once. "This fight would be a lot easier without these drones AND the humanoids!" That gave him an idea. Mega Man turned to his dog and commanded, "Rush Jet!" 

Rush was surrounded by an aura of energy for a second. When the energy faded, he had been remodeled into a Jet Board. Mega Man hopped on and Rush activated his thrusters, flying into the air. Mega Man steered Rush by leaning, much like you would on a skate board. "Yeeeee-Haah!" he shouted as he blasted the drones with his arm cannon. "This is a blast!" 

However much fun Mega Man was having, his brother was having more. "C'mon!" he taunted a robot designed after a monkey and one based on a catfish. "C'mon! Whatsamatter? Can't handle it?!" Protoman leaped into the air and shot his arm cannon at the advancing robots. 

"That's it!" Volt Catfish screamed. He built up an electric charge in the electrodes on his back and fired it off as a lighting bolt at his adversary. 

Protoman blocked it easily with his shield and replied, "Nice try, but you're gonna have ta do better than that if ya wanna win a cewpie doll!" He finished his statement by sweep kicking the monkey and sending a fully charged blast of plasma energy in Volt Catfish's face, throwing him backwards. When the two Mavericks got up they found that Protoman had disappeared. 

X wasn't having much luck. True, Double hadn't hit him since he threw out that first beam, but X hadn't been able to do anything to Double either, and X was beginning to tire out. "Had enough, X?" Double taunted, without a hint of the exhaustion X was feeling. 

"Not...in this...lifetime....bucko!" X gasped. Then he leaped high into the air and shot his X Buster at Double. Double dodged the blast and threw two small globs of slime to the ground. X was already in the air and couldn't change his direction, so he landed right in the slime. He tried to lift a foot, and he couldn't move it at all. He was stuck tight! 

"So long, X!" Double sneered. Then he stuck his hands out and they began to glow. "Wish I could say it was nice knowing you, but...well, it hasn't." 

` X wasn't listening. He was concentrating on something else. "Mega Armor Model Four, Cannon B," he thought and schematics for a new suit of armor appeared in the corner of his vision. Then he yelled out loud, "Engage!" Suddenly X was surrounded by energy. Double just stared in shock at the blinding flash of light that surrounded his adversary. When the light died down, X was standing before Double with a smug grin on his face. The slime at his feet was gone and X was wearing an entirely new suit of armor. His boots, chest piece, armbands, and helmet were white, and they were totally re-designed. "Ready to try again?" he asked. 

"Absolutely," Double replied, trying to hide the nervousness he felt. Then they were at it again. 

Zero was doing his best to fend off the group of Mavericks with Colonel when he saw what appeared to be a flame off the corner of his eye. "Yow!" he yelped as he leaped out of the way. He spun around to find one of the strangest looking robots he'd ever seen. He was humanoid, but he was split into two halves--his legs and torso and his upper body were separated--and his right hand was replaced by a huge sword blade. Zero remembered seeing him at the robot museum. This guy was Sword Man! 

Meanwhile, Protoman had been fighting off two flame-based robots modeled after and elephant and a horse, when a sudden explosion took him from behind. He spun around and gasped in shock. The robot standing before him was purple and, instead of being based on an animal, he appeared to have been built out of a giant hand grenade! "Remember me?" Grenade Man smirked. 

Mega Man had been fighting off the robotic moths when he was almost blown off Rush by a powerful gust of wind. He looked around and found himself facing two Mavericks--one based after and eagle and the other based after an owl. Both had arm cannons and they were aiming at Mega Man. "Not yet!" a voice came from behind Mega Man suddenly. "I want a shot at him, first!" Mega Man spun to see his attacker and nearly fell off Rush by himself. The robot was humanoid, and instead of using wings to fly, he had a jet pack. One hand was replaced with a tri-blade dagger and his face was completely covered by a red face mask and helmet. Mega Man finally managed to ask, "Tengu Man, what're YOU doing here?!" 

Storm Eagle, Storm Owl, and Tengu Man attacked Mega Man at once. Mega Man managed to steer out of the way of the robots, but he didn't know how he'd be able to do so for long. Storm Eagle fired off a large tornado from his arm cannon that, for some reason, was visible. Even so, Mega Man barely managed to dodge it. However, it did give him an idea. He flew down between the two birds and taunted the eagle. "Hey, you!" 

Storm Eagle gave him a confused expression and asked, "What, me?" 

Mega Man grinned. "That's right. I'm talkin' ta YOU! You wanna piece of me? I'm givin' you a free shot!" Meanwhile, Storm Owl was silently trying to sneak up on him. "C'mon!" Mega Man continued. "You CHICKEN?!" 

"That's it! No one ever calls Storm Eagle a chicken!" Storm Eagle was furious and not thinking rationally. Before he even realized it he let loose one of his Storm Tornados at Mega Man. Mega Man got Rush to fly straight up and the tornado hit Storm Owl square in the chest. He went flying through the skyscraper behind him and crashed out the other side. When he hit the ground he didn't get up again. 

"Nice shot!" Mega Man exclaimed as he flew straight at Storm Eagle and bounced the Rush Jet off the top of his head. With a startled "Squawk!" Storm Eagle careened to the ground and was lost in the crowd. Mega Man turned to Tengu Man. "Okay, that just leaves you and me!" he said with a grin. 

Spark Mandrill and Volt Catfish had lost their original target and they decided to take their anger out on something unarmed. In this instance that something was Iris. However, though she was unarmed, she was far from helpless. Spark Mandrill dashed forward with his fist thrust forward in his infamous "Dash Punch" but Iris ducked under the huge hand and delivered a driving blow to his gut. Volt Catfish watched in disbelief as the small female Reploid beat Spark Mandrill severely with such speed that she was a blur. Finally Spark Mandrill fell backwards, un, and Iris glared at Volt Catfish, who ran away from her as quickly as he could. 

Suddenly, a resounding crash sounded behind her and she spun around to find that Storm Eagle pick himself up from a particularly nasty fall. He wasn't looking at her, though. He was looking at Zero--who was so caught up in his battle with Sword Man that he didn't even notice. With an evil grin, the bird man pointed his arm cannon at Zero--only to feel a sharp pain in his shoulder have his gun arm go limp. He spun around to find Iris grinning at him. "You!!" he hissed. 

Iris' grin grew broader. "Yup, me!" she replied. Then she beat him just as fast as she beat Spark Mandrill. 

From his perch on the Rush Jet, Mega Man smiled as Tengu Man landed headfirst in a garbage can and start rolling down the street--mowing down any Maverick in his path. "Well, that was fun," he thought to himself, just as a small plasma blast from a moth hit him. "Now to get to the business at hand..." 

Zero and Sword Man were evenly matched as far as skill with a blade went, but Sword Man had an advantage in size (not to mention that his legs could attack Zero in the back), and he was wearing Zero down. "That's it! I've had enough!" Zero cried. Then he yelled "Ryuenjin!" at the top of his lungs and leaped high into the air. His Beam Saber blade had become a blade of fire, and he struck his adversary right in the chest. Sword Man's top half went bouncing along the ground and got lost in the crowd as Zero stood triumphantly. 

"Zero!" Iris cried happily. "You beat 'im!!" 

"Of course," Zero replied with a grin. "Y'know, I thought these guys had hundreds of drones with 'em. So why haven't they attacked. Just as he said that a Robo Moth tried to attack him but was disintegrated by plasma blast. Zero looked up and noticed Mega Man fly by on Rush. He gave him a salute with his arm cannon as he flew by, followed by an entire group of Moths. 

Zero and Iris both spun on their heels as they heard a "BOOM!" and a scream. Then, Protoman flew over several Maverick heads and landed at their feet. "Boy," he muttered, "Those Flash Bombs pack a punch huh..." then he fell to unconsciousness. 

Mega Man looked back and noticed all the Moths chasing him. "Perfect," he thought. "Changing from Mega Buster to Mega Beam...NOW!" Mega Man felt a slight tingling in his arm cannon before letting loose a huge beam of plasma that took out every Moth in his path. "YES!! Now to help the others..." With that Mega Man flew to his group of friends. 

At that exact moment X let loose a plasma blast that was bigger than he was, knocking Double back at least five feet. Then the crystal on X's chest began to glow. The glow spread throughout his entire body until he seemed to be as bright as the sun. Then he hopped slightly and with a scream of "Nova Strike!" he released the energy and flew right into Double's chest. And he had to admit that he never felt such a glorious sense of release before. 

Mega Man had no sooner landed among his friends when a blinding flash and scream of pain came from where he knew X and Double were fighting. One of the Mavericks screamed, "He killed Double!" Another yelled "Retreat!" 

The Mavericks started to teleport out of the battlefield and, in seconds, the only robots left were Mega Man, his friends, and Double. Now that the adrenaline (or Robotic equivalent thereof) stopped flowing, X fell to his knees and his armor disappeared to reveal his classic blue armor. Double, his chest bleeding and burning, looked over at X. "Well....You....got me...." Without even realizing it, Double morphed into the little yellow Rookie X had met at Maverick Hunter HQ. "I guess that's....what happens when....you turn against....your idol...huh, X......." Then he closed his eyes, never to open them again. 

Silence prevailed for a second. Then Mega Man walked over to X. "You okay?" he asked. 

"Sure," X replied. 

"Where'd you get that armor?" Mega Man had to ask. 

X grinned. "Dr. Light left it for me." He didn't go into any more detail. 

Mega Man backed off and let Zero kneel next to his friend. "Are you sure you're all right?" Zero asked in concern. 

"I'm fine already! Just a little worn out," X insisted. 

They continued talking, but Mega Man didn't hear them. He had a strange feeling; as if there was something wrong. He turned around and looked for whatever would give him such a feeling. At first he didn't find it. But then he spotted it. Something green was peeking out from behind a building. Then that something came out in full view. It was a robot with green and blue armor. Instead of legs, he had a spherical hovering mechanism that took up the space from the waist down. Mega Man recognized him instantly. Astro Man! "Everybody! Duck and cover!" Mega Man ran over to the group and dragged X off his knees and under a car with him. 

Protoman had just barely awakened and he turned to see the Robot Master after Mega Man's warning before he grabbed Iris' hand and led her under a semi truck, followed by Colonel. 

Zero was never one to hide from danger. Instead he drew his Beam Saber and spun to face his new enemy. "That's the threat?" he thought with a smirk. Then, with a war cry, he leaped to the air, planning to slice the robot in half. Astro Man saw him coming and spread his arms out wide and shouted, "Astro Crush!" 

Just before Zero got within striking distance, something struck him in the chest sending him hurtling toward the ground. No sooner did he hit the ground than he flipped to his feet and looked around. Flaming meteors were raining all around him, exploding as they hit the ground. Zero then decided that running was maybe a good idea and tried to get away. A meteor struck him square in the back and Zero fell forward. Zero tried to get up but couldn't get any further than his hands and knees. "Come on..." he mentally cursed, "come..." Before he could even finish his thought, a meteor struck him in the head, instantly sending him to the blackness of unconsciousness. 


	6. The Test

Chapter 5

  
  


The Test

  
  


The meteor shower only lasted for a few second, but it seemed like hours to the robots under the cars. They crawled out from under the wreckage and gasped, almost simultaneously. The entire block was totaled: the cars they used as cover were now unrecognizable pieces of scrap metal, the street was pockmarked with craters, and--lying in the middle of it all--was Zero, still as death. "Zero!" X and Iris cried at the same time as they ran to their fallen friend. They knelt beside him and examined his wounds. His chest, back, and helmet all were scorched severely, and he bled circulatory fluids openly. He was alive, however and was beginning to stir. He managed to get up to his knees, and took his helmet off to rub the back of his head. "Oooh," he groaned. "What hit me?...Felt like a semi truck!" 

"The Astro Crush," Mega Man said casually. "Hurts like heck." 

"Sure does," Zero agreed as he stumbled to his feet. Then he leaned against the building for support. 

"Hey! Don't strain yourself too much!" X cried. 

"X!!" Zero said in warning. Then he put on his helmet and activated the communicator. "Hey, Doc! We're done here; how're things over there?" 

Dr. Cain's voice came over the miniature speakers in Zero's helmet. "We managed to drive them off, but we're keeping the teleportation-proof energy shield up, just in case." 

"Sounds good to me," Zero agreed. "We're commin' on our bikes, then--and you won't believe what we're bringin' with us!" Zero then limped over to the hover cycles (They hadn't even suffered so much as a dent). 

Protoman noticed that the 'cycles were still in top condition and asked, "How'd they survive Somethin' like THAT?" 

Colonel grinned. "The shells of all the 'cycles are made of Triranium--maybe you heard of it?" 

The name sounded slightly familiar to Protoman, but Mega Man knew that Triranium was a plasma resistant, ultra strong metal that Wily liked to use for armor plating on all of his major creations around all his various Skull Fortresses as well as the Forts themselves. 

"Here's a problem," Zero said, atop his 'cycle. "We've got six robots and only four 'Cycles. What're we gonna do?" 

Mega Man grinned. "That's no problem!" He turned to Rush and commanded, "Rush Cycle." Immediately Rush transformed into a motorcycle, of sorts, and Mega Man climbed aboard. "Now, all that leaves is Protoman..." he said. 

"No problem," Iris exclaimed. "Prot can have my bike!" She then climbed on Zero's bike and wrapped her arms around his waist. "I wanted to ride like this on the way here, anyway." Mega Man and Protoman could tell by the silly grin on Zero's face that was what he wanted, too... Soon, the small band of robots was flying down the road to MHHQ.   
  


***********

"How could you do something so STUPID?!?!" Wily was the one to say it, and it was directed at Sigma. "If we teamed up together and destroyed one enemy at a time, we would have been able to beat them! But, not only do you bring Mega Man and his infernal brother to this time period, but you also dropped them off right with your enemies. WHY!!???" 

Sigma listened through it all patiently and when Wily was through, he answered, "So we can wipe out both of our enemies with one blow." 

"Well, that last attempt didn't go very far!" Wily retorted. 

"Wily, Wily, Wily," Sigma said as if lecturing a lovable, but stupid child, "That wasn't an attempt to destroy them, but rather a test of Mega Man's and Protoman's abilities and how well they might work with X and Zero. Now that I got a look at their particular styles, we can dispose of them any way we want--and with our very valuable captives' lives at stake, they wouldn't dream of attacking us, even if they did find the new Maverick base." 

Sigma took a glance over to the far wall of the lab. Built into that wall was a large cage. Bass was leaning against the wall to the right of the cage, watching the argument with interest, and Treble seemed to sleep right in front of the cage. Inside the cage were the two captives Sigma was referring to--Dr. Light and Roll. 

Bass noticed Vile on the opposite wall. Though he couldn't see his face through his helmet, Bass got the impression that he something was wrong with him. "This argument is over," Sigma finalized, "Come Vile...Doppler." 

Vile glared at his commander-in-chief. "Not this time, pal. I need a little time to myself." 

Sigma waved Vile off with a dismissive gesture. "Whatever. Come on Doppler!" 

Sigma and Doppler were almost out one of the doors when Wily started yelling again. "Don't leave me! This isn't over yet, YOU HEAR ME? THIS IS NOT OVER!" 

Sigma grinned at him. "I don't believe it is. But, I have more pressing business to attend to. Good bye." With that Sigma let the automatic door close behind him. Wily fumed for a moment before storming out the opposite door. 

Bass grinned. "What a jerk! I love it when someone gets ol' Wily riled up," he muttered under his breath. 

Roll put her hands against the bars of the cage and said, sarcastically, "If you hate 'im so much, why do you work with him?" 

"Don't get any ideas, sister!" Bass replied. "I may hate the guy, but I hate your brother a lot worse! Got it?" 

Bass was going to go on, but as he spun to look Roll in the face, something passed between them and stunned them both to silence. Finally Bass managed to turn his gaze away from Roll and mutter, "Oh, never mind!" 

Then he noticed Vile exit the lab. "What's his problem?" Bass wondered silently. "Treble, keep an eye on these two for a while," he ordered. Treble just gave a growl that seemed to say, "I have been," before seeming to go back to sleep.   
  


Roll scuffled to the back of the cell and sat next to Dr. Light. "What're you lookin' at?" she asked in response to the silly grin on his face. 

"You like him, don't you?" he replied. 

"What?! That creep?! C'mon Doc Light..." 

Dr. Light grinned. "Roll, I know you and Rock better than some fathers know their human sons and daughters. There's not much you can hide from me." 

Roll grew sheepish. "Yeah, I guess he is sorta cute..." she admitted. 

Dr. Light's good mood seemed to darken instantly. "And I think he likes you, too," he sighed.   
  


"How can you stand that...human?!" Doppler asked once they were away from the lab. 

"Because he is a useful human..." Sigma answered. "At least for now." 

"How is he useful?" Doppler went on. "He already finished your body!" 

Sigma gave Doppler a look that seemed to bore a hole right through him. "That is none of your concern, Doppler. In any case, I have an assignment for you. I want you to develop a new Maverick Virus. One that can be caught as easily as the common cold. Just as incurable but far more permanent, got it?" 

"Yes sir," Doppler mumbled dejectedly as Sigma stormed into his personal living quarters. 

Sigma was greeted by Verangarde, his Reploid dog. "Down, boy," he commented. Sigma sat down at his personal surveillance equipment and flipped a switch. The central monitor flared to live and showed a large room with a large, half completed, headless robot body standing in the center. Sigma watched as Wily stormed in, sat at a set of computer equipment, and activated the immobile "arms" attached to the wall. These arms began working on the new body. "Once you are finished Wily," Sigma thought to himself, "You truly WILL BE finished."   
  


Bass followed Vile out of the room and into a grungy sewer tunnel. "Hey, Vile what's up?" he asked when he finally caught up to him. 

"Nothin'," Vile replied. "Now leave me alone!" Then he stormed off, leaving Bass staring down the hallway after him. 

"He must be takin' Double's death harder than he's lettin' on," Bass thought. After a few seconds, he decided, "Aw, forget it! It's his problem..." Bass stopped suddenly when he heard a faint tugging at the back of his mind. _Sure,_ it seemed to say, _Whatever. Just admit it. You feel sorry for him!_ "You've got to be kiddin'!" Bass said aloud. "I'm Bass! I don't have feelin's of any kind for anybody!" The voice just patiently replied, _And Roll?_ Bass stopped instantly. 

Bass had fought this mental battle before; and he thought he won. That persistent little voice first made itself known way back to when he pulled his first con on Mega Man. Bass managed to push it away instantly and it never showed up again. Until recently. For some reason--ever since Bass became a Bioroid--the voice came back, more persistent than ever. Fighting this battle always put him in the mood to beat up the first thing that moved. Then, he saw Slash Beast and Neon Tiger strolling down the passageway. Bass grinned. "Perfect..." 

********************

"Woah," Mega Man gasped. 

X rode up next to him and asked, "Pretty cool, huh?" 

The small band of robots were within sight of the Maverick Hunter Headquarters--better known as the "Hunter Tower." It was among the tallest skyscrapers in the city, with "Maverick Hunters" written across the top several floors in huge golden letters. 

"Eat my dust!" Zero cried as he and Iris flew past the others on their bike. 

X grinned. "Is that some kind of challenge?" he asked as he punched up the speed on his bike. 

` Zero glanced back at his friend. "There's more than one kind of challenge?" he asked in reply. 

"You're on!" Protoman cried as he flew after the Reploids, followed by Mega Man on Rush.   
  


A short time later, the small group of robots were seated in Dr. Cain's den. In the center of the room was a small, rectangular table. Dr. Cain was sitting on a cushioned rocking chair at the head of the table. Lounging on an old, worn couch, were Protoman, Rock, and X. Rock and X were now wearing their street cloths, though Protoman was in his battle armor and appeared to be sleeping. Across the table the three robots, on a luv seat, were Zero and Iris. Both were wearing red tee-shirts and worn blue jeans and Iris was wearing an old Chicago Bulls baseball cap. Colonel wasn't there at all. He'd decided to help run the security systems. 

"...And that's what happened." Rock concluded. "And when Prot and I arrived on the other end, Dr. Light and Roll weren't there anymore." 

"That is strange," Dr. Cain replied. "I would guess that they were sent to another time or place. What makes me curious, though, is how can it be that three of the most influential people in history can be brought to the future without changing the time line." 

"Wha'd'ya mean, Doc?" Zero asked. 

"What I mean, Zero, is that if they came here, to our present, then there isn't any way they could have stayed behind, in their present, so history should have changed drastically, but it didn't. Assuming of course, that time travel were even supposed to be possible!" 

"Don't look at me, Doc," Rock spoke up. "As far as I know, we came here by accident." 

"Not by accident," Protoman suddenly said, surprising everyone except Rock. Nothing his brother did surprised him any more. Protoman then sat up and went on: "Rock, remember how much time he left for us to jump in? The only reason we're IN this time period is because Bass wanted us to be." 

"But why would our enemies want us at a place where we could make allies with other people who could put them away?" Rock asked. 

"It's just Sigma's way," Zero answered. 

"Yeah," X spoke up, "Ever hear of the 'King's Gambit?'" 

"The what?" Protoman asked. 

"The King's Gambit," X answered. "In Chess. It's a strategy where one player seems to give his opponent the advantage, when in actuality he's settin' 'em up for the big fall." 

Zero went on for X. "It's the way Sigma thinks. He's th' king, his top Mavericks are his Queen, Bishops, Knights, and Rooks, and everyone else in his army are Pawns." 

Protoman sneered. "So what's that make us, Pogs?" 

Rock rolled his eyes. "Alright, X, we told you our story, now it's your turn. I've noticed you get depressed every time I've mentioned Dr. Light's name. Now what's up with that?" 

X gave him a sad smile. "Yeah, I guess I do owe you that much. I was created by Dr. Light." 

"Huh?" Protoman and Rock asked together. 

X grinned. "A long time ago. I don't remember everything, so I often wonder what kind of questions he could answer for me if I got to meet him just once. 'Why did he create me?' 'What happened to the original Mega Man?' and 'Did he make any other Reploids?' Of course you came here from several years before he created me, so he couldn't know. But still..." X grew silent. 

After several seconds, Protoman addressed Zero. "Alright, pal. Now it's your turn." 

"Huh," Zero gave Protoman a look of complete incomprehension. 

"I saw somethin' in you ev'ry time Rocky here mentioned Bass and Dr. Wily. So c'mon, fess up!" 

Zero was silent for a second. "Okay, okay, I'll tell ya. I...was created by Dr. Wily." 

"WHAAAT?!?!?!" X cried. Everyone else stared at him in surprise. "Why didn't you tell me," X asked, hurt. 

Zero caught the feeling in his voice and grew even more sober. "I didn't find out myself until last year, and even I don't know much about my past. Sigma seems to, though. Anyway, I do feel as if Bass is my big brother." 

Silence. 

After a moment, Dr. Cain spoke up. "Wily and Sigma. What a strange pairing." 

Zero grinned. "Not necessarily, Doc. Sigma probably offered to help Wily to help him take over his time period in return for a new body, when, in reality, he'll be planning to kill Wily as his first victim before goin' for the entire human race." 

Rock grinned himself. "While Wily is planning on double crossing Sigma when he gets what he wants." 

"That's villains for ya," Protoman had to laugh. 

Dr. Cain got up and started for the door with a yawn. "It's been a long day. I'm turning in." On his way out, he marveled again at how similar X and Mega Man looked. "One of the greatest heroes the world has ever known." he thought as he gazed at Rock. Then, leaning heavily on his cane, Dr. Cain started for his room. 

Zero stood and stretched. "Well, I'm ready for some shut-eye myself," he said. Then he turned to Iris. "May I escort you to your room, my lady?" 

Iris giggled and said, "You certainly may. Lead on." Then they strolled out. 

"I'm off ta see if there's anything cool ta do around here," Protoman said as he stood up. "See ya Rocky." Then he too was gone. 

Rock and X stood at approximately the same time. Rock spoke first. "Ya off ta bed?" 

"Nah, I think I'll go on a quick patrol first. How 'bout you?" 

"I dunno. I think I'll explore this place fer a while." 

"Well, See ya." 

Rock waved at X as they separated. "Yeah, see ya." Then he waited for a second before following his aperient "Older Self" out. 

**************

X was fully armored once again as he flew down the street on his hover bike. He was so deep in thought he almost didn't wave at the two teens who were on standing at the corner. 

One of the teens, a tall blond kid with glasses, turned to his companion. "Wow, did you see that?!" 

The other teen, one with brown hair, replied, "Yeah, that was awesome!" 

Then another robot in blue armor flew by on a red motorcycle that appeared to be a dog. The boys did a double take. The robot that flew by was supposed to have been destroyed for a good fifty years. "D,d,d,did you see that?" the blond boy said in shock. 

"Yeah, let get outta here!"   
  


Mega Man found himself sneaking around a building that looked like all it needed was a good push and it would collapse. Mega Man snuck as quietly as he could around one corner of the building with Rush right behind him. As he peered around the corner, he saw X at the boarded up door. As he watched in amazement, X flipped open a small panel in the wall and typed in some sort of entrance code. Within seconds, the rotting boards simply vanished and a shiny metal door slid open. "Well," Mega Man thought to himself, "maybe this place isn't so deserted, after all." 

X went inside and Mega Man dashed toward the door and slid under it just before it closed. "Rush, are ya here?" he asked in the darkness and got a lick in response. "Good! Let's see what ol' X is up to, shall we?" 

When Mega Man got to the end of the dark tunnel, he found himself in a large, high tech room, filled with glass cases containing robots. "Hey!" he cried in surprise. "This is the Robot Museum!" 


	7. Forgotten Memories

Chapter 6

  
  


Forgotten Memories

  
  


"Woah," Mega Man gasped. "I thought this neighborhood looked familiar. I guess now I know why!" Mega Man started walking through the main exhibit. Each case contained robots that were sure to be ancient history in this time period, but Mega Man knew them better than he'd have liked. Snake Man. Blizzard Man. Heat Man. Pharaoh Man. They were all here, along with the other Robot Masters Mega Man had defeated. Mega Man stopped in front of a case containing Guts Man and grinned. He remembered the day of the great unveiling. A museum dedicated to all the victories of the city's--possibly even the world's--greatest hero, Mega Man. It had only been--what?--a year and a half ago? "Well, at least by my standards," Mega Man reminded himself with a giggle. 

Finally, Mega Man continued on, searching for his new friend. During the search, he couldn't keep another memory from surfacing about this place--one he'd just as soon forget. It was during the seventh "Wily War." Dr. Wily broke in and managed to make off with the model of Guts Man. Using it, he created a new Mega Man Destroyer. Mega Man defeated it only after taking heavy damage. It was a good thing he had the Slash Claw to knock its blocks back at it. 

At the end of the main room, Mega Man came across a door that had never been there as far as he knew. The dim light made it difficult for Mega Man to read the inscription on the door, but he managed to make it out anyway. It said, "The Mega Man Memorial Exhibit." That made Mega Man straighten up. Tapping a finger on his chin, Mega Man thought, "If there's any place in this museum that X would most likely go, this is probably it." 

Mega Man opened the door and stepped in a room that had even less light than the main exhibit. The only light in the room was coming from the seven glass cases in the room. Mega Man stopped short when he saw what was in the cases. In the center of the room were two large cases, encased in the one to the right, Mega Man saw himself, standing in a battle-ready pose. In the case to the left, Mega Man saw Protoman. Then in various glass cases of various sizes scattered around the room were Rush, Tango, Beat, Roll, and together in one case, Auto and Eddie. Mega Man took his helmet off and ran a hand through his black hair--a human mannerism that was programmed in his personality routines before he even became a Bioroid. "Woah, creepy," he mumbled. 

"Hello, Mega Man," a sudden voice came from a far corner of the room. 

"Hi, X," Mega Man said as he flipped the light switch next to the door. Light flooded the room and Rock could see X sitting on the far corner of the room with his helmet resting next to him. Mega Man walked over to him, sat down, and put his hand on X's shoulder. "...and call me Rock--all my friends do." 

X gave Rock a rather sad smile. "Thanks--Rock." he mumbled. 

There was a few seconds of uncomfortable silence before Rock asked, "So...whacha doin' here?" 

X looked distant, like he wasn't really listening, but he answered anyway. "This is my little hideout. A place where I can just be by myself." Rock suddenly felt a pang of guilt, like he intruded on something private, but X went on. "The Robot Museum was suffering big time--I guess when a war is goin' on nobody has the time to visit a museum. When I found out that it was going to be torn down, I asked Dr. Cain to buy it for me...He must have known why I wanted it because he bought this place with money that definately could have been used to help the Maverick Hunters. So as I was restoring the place I came across this room. It had been locked up and closed for over thirty years and I wanted to see what was in here. Now, this is where I spend most of my 'alone time.'" 

Rock was quiet the entire time X was talking. Finally he asked, "But isn't it creepy. I mean it's like seein' the ghosts of the past. Well, my present, but you know what I mean." 

X gave Rock a small grin. "That's why I like it here." Rock couldn't help but give X a strange look. X went on; "When I come here I can almost remember parts of my past. Like a shadow of a memory or something. I hope that maybe one day, I might actually remember my past..." X trailed off. 

Rock stood and picked up his helmet. He was intruding on something and felt he should be going. Besides, he hadn't seen Rush in five minutes and he had to check on him and make sure he didn't break an exhibit or something. "I guess you wanna be alone, huh?" Rock asked X. X gave a small nod. As Rock was about to leave, he glanced back at X, who in turn was staring off into space. Again Rock noticed how alike he and X actually looked. Same blue eyes. Same black hair with the same wave. Same untied shoelaces when in street cloths. The only difference between the two of them was the age they appeared to be and the design of their armor. Rock just couldn't leave X looking so depressed. "Well, too bad!" he said with a cheerful grin. "You can't get rid a me that easily. Wily's been trying for years!" 

Rock plopped right back on the ground next to X. "I'm gonna tell ya all about myself. Maybe that will stir up some of those memories of yours." 

X leaned back against the wall, closed his eyes and said, "I think I'd like that." 

Rock slapped X on the back as he exclaimed, "Good! Now where to begin...I guess the beginning is as good as anything. I was built in the year 20XX and I wasn't a warrior. Not even close! I was a mechanic....."   
  


Rock told his story for what must have been hours. He just finished telling X about the fifth Wily War and was just about to start in on the sixth before he realized that X was asleep. Rock checked his internal clock (Which he remembered to reset to match the time in this period.) and almost gasped. "It's two in the morning! And even Reploids and Bioroids need their sleep..." Rock fell to sleep almost before he finished the statement.   
  


*****************

X found himself walking down a pitch black corridor. "Wha...Where am I?" he asked himself. Then suddenly the inky blackness came to focus as a metal hallway. "Huh? Where's this!?" X exclaimed. Then he saw the symbol. Etched on the wall was a stylized "W." "Hey! I know that symbol. That 'W' means that this place belongs to the infamous Dr. Wily!" 

Then a strange noise met X's ears. "Hey!" he exclaimed. Then he ran in the direction he heard the sound. "Ohh, man! I know the sound of plasma cannons firing when I hear it! There must be trouble!" 

X turned a corner and stopped short. In front of him, was Mega Man, battling what must have been Bass. And he was losing. "Hold on, Rock!" X shouted. He tried to form an Arm Cannon, but nothing happened. "What the...!?" And that wasn't all. Bass hit Mega Man with another shot that sent him hurtling through the air. X tried to catch his new friend, but Mega Man passed right through him. X was beginning to get really frustrated. "Aw, man! It's like I'm not even here!" 

Before X could realize the significance of this, Bass broke into his thoughts. "Well, Mega Man. Are ya ready ta quit yet?" 

Mega Man struggled to stand and gave Bass the best grin he could. It wasn't much. Mega Man was bleeding heavily, and he was cut, battered, and charred in too many places to count. "Don't know.....the meaning.....of the .......word." he answered in defiance. 

Bass grinned wider. "Have it your way!" 

X wasn't sure what happened then, but all he could see was a bright purple light. "NOOOOOO!" he screamed as he covered his eyes. When X could see again, Bass was leaning against the wall, arms folded, as he gave Rock a smug grin. Mega Man just stood there for a moment, giving Bass a look of complete shock. Then, he just toppled over. He didn't get up. X couldn't believe his eyes. 

"Rock! No!" The sudden voice came from behind X. When he spun around, he saw Protoman. Protoman was looking at Mega Man, then he turned his attention on Bass. X never saw so much hate and anguish in one face before. "You killed him." Protoman said softly. Then he said again in a louder tone, "YOU KILLED HIM!!!" Then with a primal screech of rage, Protoman was on Bass. The ferocity that Protoman fought was unreal. Bass didn't stand a chance. 

Once Protoman finished, a small groan came from the still form of Mega Man. "Rock!" Protoman shouted. He was across the room and had his helmet off in less than a second. 

"H,H,H,Hadrian...?" Mega Man whispered. 

"Yeah, Rocky. It's me." 

A small smile played on Mega Man's lips. "I f,f,forgot ta...duck." 

"Don't worry, Rock. You're gonna be okay." 

"Not....this time. Say good bye to.....Doc....tor....Light for me." 

Protoman was obviously breaking down. "Don't talk that way! I'll take ya back to Dr. Light and he'll have you all fixed up in no time! You'll see..." 

Rock shook his head, then whispered, "Good bye, Hadrian..." Then he closed his eyes. 

Protoman was openly crying now, even though as a robot he couldn't shed any tears. "Rock....Rock! Oh, no.....no.....no....." 

The scene then shifted back to darkness, leaving behind a very emotionally stunned Mega Man X. "That was a scene from the past, X. Your past." 

X spun to face the one who addressed him. To his surprise, it was a ghostly blue image of a white haired, bearded man in a lab coat. "Dr. Light?" he asked in disbelief. 

Dr. Light grinned. "Yes, X. It's me. I have come to help you. A great evil is here, and events are happening to change history. You must stop this from happening, or none of us will survive!" 

"What? What must I stop?" X asked. 

Dr. Light gave X a wistful look. "I can't tell you right now, but beware...." 

Dr. Light began to disappear, and now X was on the verge of hysteria. "Dr. Light? No don't leave me yet! Nooooooooo!"   
  


X awoke with a start. It took him a second to recognize his surroundings. He was in the Robot Museum; right where he was supposed to be. He glanced to his right and found Rock fast asleep against his shoulder. "Good night Rock." X said as the terror of his dream faded. Then he fell into a dreamless sleep. 


	8. Escape

Chapter 7

  
  


Escape

  
  


"Sigma, I still don't see why you don't blast that worthless human into a million pieces already!" Doppler said it. He and Sigma were walking down the hall to their personal living quarters after another debate with Dr. Wily. 

Sigma didn't give Doppler "the look" like he did any other time Doppler spoke up against him, and that scared Doppler more than anything. "Maybe you're right, Doppler," he said in an "I'm not really listening" tone of voice. "I think that our esteemed guest finally outgrew his usefulness. I will take care of that particular problem tonight!"   
  


*****************

  
  


Meanwhile, Bass was guarding Dr. Light and Roll like he always did. He was sitting in a small chair--leaning back against the wall with his feet resting on another one--and he was doodling on a small pad of paper, probably because he was bored. "Well, well, well," he thought to himself. "I'm glad I finally got around to planting those bugs. This should be an interesting night!" Bass had spent the last few weeks exploring the Maverick base, getting to know every nook and cranny--and planting listening devices tuned into the frequency of the communicator of his helmet. Now they were paying off, letting Bass in on his "benefactors'" plan to destroy Dr. Wily. 

For a moment, he was tempted simply to let them have him, but he decided that no one deserved a fate like they undoubtedly had planned. That left the problem with his two prisoners. Neither one of them spoke around him since the day Bass discovered he had feelings for Roll--feelings that he was still trying to cover up--but he could still feel that his feelings were getting stronger. On the other hand, they were friends of Mega Man, his most hated enemy. Finally, he came to a decision. Bass scribbled on his pad for a moment more, tore the paper out, crumpled it into a ball, and tossed it on the floor as he left. 

Roll and Dr. Light watched him go. "Now, why do you suppose he just up and left us?" Dr. Light wondered aloud. 

"Who cares?" Roll said with a sneer. "That just makes planning our escape easier!" But even with her confident words, she had to admit she was curious, too. Roll looked from the door to the crumpled paper on the floor outside the cage. It was within easy reach and, being a housekeeping robot that couldn't stand untidiness, Roll went to pick it up. Curiously, she uncrumpled the paper. She only looked at what was on it for a second and her eyes grew almost twice their normal size. 

"HeyDocIthinkyoushouldcometakealookatthis!" Roll exclaimed with that habit of hers to string entire paragraphs into one word. 

Dr. Light took the paper from Roll's hands and read it himself. He too was startled by what was scrawled on it. It read: "Escaping tonight. Be prepared." 

The time had come. The moment had arrived. All Bass had to do get the two old scientists, Roll, and himself out of the Maverick Headquarters and they'd be home free. Yeah, right. Easier said than done. Sigma certainly wasn't making the escape any easier. Bass hadn't even unlocked the cage that Dr. Light and Roll were held in before Sigma appeared. The tall Reploid sneered. "Unfortunately, Wily, you have outlived your usefulness. Therefore, It is time to say goodbye." 

Wily scowled at the futuristic robot in front of him. "Do you really think that you could kill me?" he taunted. "I have eight Robot Masters on my side that will defend me to their destructions!" 

Sigma didn't seem the least bit perturbed. "Oh, are they?" he asked with amusement. "I think you ought to see what side they are really on!" With that, Sigma hit a button hidden in the wall that caused the wall to open up, revealing the eight robots Wily and Bass brought with them. Each of them had the Maverick symbol stamped on their armor. "You see, Wily, we've transformed your precious Robot Masters to Reploids and infected them with the Maverick Virus. I don't think they will do much to help you anymore!" 

With a noble battle cry, Bass leaped at the Maverick leader, intending to blast him to smithereens. "Oh, sit down!" Sigma grumbled as he backhanded the ebony robot in the face. Bass reeled from the blow and practically flew face first into the brick wall next to the cage. Bass slumped to the floor and he didn't get up. 

"Bass!" Roll wailed from inside the prison. 

Sigma gave Bass one sidelong glance as he said with a sneer, "If you are as intelligent as I think you are, then you will stay down!" Sigma turned to Wily. "And as for you..." Sigma drew his Beam Sabre, its shimmering green blade almost hypnotizing the terrified human. "...I do believe it is time to say goodbye." 

Wily's former Robot Masters all watched the show with great interest. All except for Sword Man. He was in a quandary. He was now a Reploid with a free will and a desire to destroy humanity. Yet the human that was about to be slaughtered was his own creator--a man he'd been loyal to for his entire life. Part of him wanted to simply let Sigma slice the poor, pathetic human in two, and yet... When Sword Man saw Sigma raise his Beam Sabre in preparation to destroy his target, he made his decision. 

Wily saw the glowing blade begin its arc to his skull and closed his eyes against the death he knew would come. But it never came. Instead, Wily heard a clang like that of two swords locking together. When Wily dared a peek, what he saw stunned his already frayed mind to a state of total confusion. Standing above him, with his sword locked with Sigma's, was Sword Man. 

"Sigma, that is my creator you almost iced," Sword Man growled as he stared at Sigma with determination. "And I am not going to stand by and watch as you destroy him!" 

"Fine," Sigma agreed. "Then I will have to destroy you first!" A fierce battle had started between the two robots and all Wily, in his frayed state of mind, could do was watch them go at it. 

Bass, meanwhile, gave a groan as he was pulled from unconsciousness. He put a hand to his aching head as he stood shakily up. When Bass lowered his hand, he could see the black liquid from his face staining it and let loose with some of the more colorful words in his vocabulary. 

"Bass!" Roll exclaimed, disgusted. "This isn't the time to sit there an' cuss! C'mon, do SOMETHING!" 

Bass spun to just in time to see Sword Man send his legs out to attack Sigma, only to have Sigma blast them to a million pieces. Sword Man screamed in pain as the psychic connection between his leg and the rest of his body was broken before falling to the ground. Sigma was about to chop of Sword Man's head, but the Robot Master blocked the blow with his sword. 

Still muttering his choice words and phrases under his breath, Bass produced a card key from his belt and used it to unlock the cage. "Come on!" he yelled to his former captives. On his way out the door he grabbed Wily (who was still incoherent from the shock) by the shoulders and dragged him out the door with him. 

Seconds later Bass and the rest of the escapees arrived at the vertical hallway. Bass leaped down it without hesitation, followed closely by Treble. Roll followed, but Dr. Light hesitated. "Don't worry Doc, I'll cachya!" Roll's comforting voice floated up to his ears. 

"Well, here goes..." he muttered as he jumped. 

Roll caught him as promised and the group was running down the hall again. Soon they arrived at a spot that didn't seem to be any hope of escape. The hallway continued ahead of them as much as it did behind. "Hey!" Roll exclaimed. "Why're we stoppin' here? Bass..." 

But Bass wasn't listening to Roll as she continued to complain. He just set his creator down. Bass noted with great amusement that Dr. Wily still had a faraway look in his eyes. "Still out of it," he muttered. "I guess coming that close to dyin' can do that to a human..." 

"And furthermore..."Roll continued. 

"ROLL!" Bass shouted, silencing the girl robot. "Would you be a dear and just let me get us out of this mess!? Thank you." Bass turned to the stone wall and pressed a button that Roll and Dr. Light couldn't see. Suddenly the bricks seemed to vanish and revealed a metal hatchway that opened up for Bass. 

"What is this?" Dr. Light asked with interest. 

"A garbage chute," Bass explained. "It leads deep enough into the sewers that the only other way the Mavericks could take would take hours. Treble first..." The large robot dog leaped in the opening head first. 

Bass was just throwing the still stunned Dr. Wily in the chute when Dr. Light asked, "But couldn't they just teleport to our location?" 

Bass grinned. "Nope. There are teleport buffers all over the place that are always on as a security measure. Not only do they keep intruders out, but they keep Mavericks in! By the time they find the spot we've landed, we'll be long gone. You next Doc." Dr. Light slid feet first down the shaft as the Maverick army appeared on both ends of the hallway. "You go first!" Bass yelled at Roll. 

"But what about you?" Roll asked in surprise. 

"Somebody's got to cover the rear!" Bass replied. 

Roll smiled as she leaped down the chute. Bass and Rock were more alike than either of them would care to admit... 

"So, old friend. Now you've betrayed us." Vile hissed. 

Bass leaned casually against the wall. "Yep," was the simple reply. 

"Then I'm afraid you'll have to die." Vile said calmly. "Attack." 

The entire army converged on Bass, but none of them could get close enough to even get a good aim with their weapons. After a few minutes, Bass said to Vile, "Ya know, this has been a fun party, but I got places to go, people to see..." With that Bass shot a fully charged shot right at the ceiling. With a shout of "Geronimo!!" Bass dove head first down the shaft seconds before tons of debris crashed to the ground, covering the entrance. 

"Arrrrg!" Vile let out a primal roar of rage. He knew where that garbage chute led, and he knew how long it would take to get there, or dig his way through. By then the Mavericks' prisoners would be home free! 


	9. Making Allies Out of Enemies

Chapter 8

  
  


Making Allies out of Enemies

  
  


"I really appreciate you volunteering for this," Dr. Cain was saying. He was sitting at a large computer monitor in one of the many robotics labs in the Hunter Tower. "After all, I couldn't find your brother and..." 

"...I was the second choice." Protoman made his comment with the same indifferent voice he used for everything, be it be complex battle strategies, his feelings about Wily (which were less than friendly), or the weather. Dr. Cain, however still caught something in the statement--something like how that was a common occurrence and he just learned to live with it. Dr. Cain gave Protoman a quick sidelong glance. He was lying on a lab table, his helmet off, and his face was his standard emotionless mask that he usually wore if he wasn't flashing that cocky grin of his. 

"Well, anyway," Dr. Cain said, breaking the slight tension he'd created, "the scan is finished. Do you want to see if anything is out of place?" 

"Sure," was the response, and Protoman swung his legs over the edge of the table, picked up his visored helmet from a smaller table next to it, strapped his shield that was leaning against the table to his back, and lazily strolled the short distance to the computer equipment. 

"Hmm, interesting," Proto muttered to himself. The results of the scan Dr. Cain ran on him looked exactly like they should have, except he seemed to be surrounded by some sort of aura. "What th' heck is that, anyway?" 

Dr. Cain read the readings carefully before answering, "A temporal field of some kind, I guess." 

"A what!?" 

Dr. Cain grinned. "Do you want layman's terms or scientific terms?" 

"Uh, better explain it to me like I was an idiot, okay? That's th' only way I can understand any of that sort of crap." 

"Okay, here goes. When you dove through that portal, part of you went forward in time and part of you stayed behind." 

"Wait a minute! Are you saying that I'm not all here?!" 

Dr. Cain laughed. "No. You are all here, but you left a shadow of yourself in the past. My guess is that Bass, Wily, Mega Man, and everyone else that went through that portal did, too. That's why history didn't change." 

Protoman frowned. "Is there anything that could 'erase' these shadows?" 

"Not much. If you go back to your time period, your shadow will disappear, but history wouldn't change because you'd be there. But if you were destroyed or if that source of the Time Portals left without you, then it would vanish and change the entire course of history." 

"That doesn't sound too good," Protoman muttered. 

"No, it doesn't. That means that we've got go find Bass and Wily before they leave for the past!" 

Zero was in the living quarters of himself and X, taking full advantage of the lounge chair in front of the television set. He was wearing a dull red tee shirt and a pair of faded blue jeans and was taking a nap, since Iris and Colonel were on patrol and X was off on one of his "disappearances." The door buzzer to the apartment suddenly sounded, waking Zero with such a start that he fell out of bed. Sputtering and cussing, Zero tried to spit out the strands of his own blonde hair that he almost swallowed. "Man, I knew I should'a put my hair in a ponytail or something!" 

Then a voice came over the intercom system. "Oh, sorry, Zero. Didn't wake ya did I?" 

Zero grinned. He knew that voice. "Ah, don't worry about it, Chip. C'mon in." 

At that, the automatic front door to the apartment opened and in rushed an energetic young man in a hover chair. Matt "Microchip" Baker--"Chip For short--was the Hunters' resident computer hacker, hence the nickname. He was once one of the best Hunters when it came to finding a Maverick's weakness and exploiting it. But a battle with Neon Tiger paralyzed him from the waist down. His disability didn't seem to bother him in the least and he was good friends with everyone on the force. 

Zero stood before his friend and asked, "So, Chip, what brings you to this neck o' the woods?" 

Matt bit his lip, somewhat nervously. "D'ya know where Doc Cain is, perchance?" 

"Sure, why?" 

"We've got company!"   
  


***************

  
  


X was awakened by a strange yet familiar beeping sound. He opened one eye partway and took a look at his helmet. It was beeping loudly, indicating that someone was trying to reach him on his communicator. The strange thing was, Rock's helmet was beeping as well. X tapped Rock lightly on the shoulder to wake him up and got a blue gloved fist planted right in his face. 

"Ow! Why'd ya have ta go an' do that!?" 

Rock was instantly awake at the loud voice and when he saw X rubbing his sore nose, he almost visibly shrank. "Oh, sorry about that. Reflex action." 

"Some reflexes!" 

The two robots stared blankly at their blaring helmets for half a second before grabbing them and quickly activating their communicators. 

"Hello," both said simultaneously. 

"X?" It was Dr. Cain. 

"Mega Man, too!" Rock exclaimed with a grin. 

"Strange. It seems that both of your helmet coms are tuned in to the same frequency. We'll have to do more research on that later." 

Zero's voice came to Rock's and X's ears. "Rock, X we need you over here just about as soon as you can hover bike over here..." 

"Yeah, Rocky!" Protoman. "We've got somewhat of an emergency here...hey quit that! Leggo my scarf!" 

Then came Iris's voice, "Zero, put him down this instant!" Then there was a punt and a yelp followed by the sound of an automatic door closing. X and Mega Man grinned. They both knew what happened Protoman interrupted Zero, who always hated to have his thunder stolen by anyone. So, Zero picked Proto by the loose ends of his scarf and drop kicked him out the door. 

Dr. Cain came on the com systems again. "Zero's right. We need you over here ASAP." 

"Alright, Doc," X agreed. "We'll be right there. Over and out and all that crap. See ya."   
  


***************

  
  


Minutes later, X and Mega Man were riding their particular motorcycles in the direction of the Maverick Hunter Tower. As Mega Man zoomed past the many seemingly abandoned buildings on his Rush Cycle, he remembered something that he'd noticed earlier. "Hey, X?" he called to his "twin." 

"Yeah, Rock?" 

"Why is the city so deserted. I mean, it is New York isn't it? As in one of the biggest and most populated cities in the world?" 

X's face was drawn into a sad frown. "Unfortunately, this war with the Mavericks has caused more human fatalities than us Hunters would like to admit. The city is only half as populated as it was even thirty years ago. And most humans are still hiding. Frankly, I'm not sure if this war will ever truly end until there are no more Reploids left to become Maverick." 

X fell silent, and Mega Man cast him a worried glance. What he said made all too much sense. In fact, Rock had similar worries himself. Maybe the Human Race doomed itself by creating robots. Such thoughts would have to wait for now. They had arrived.   
  


************

  
  


X and Mega Man stormed into the lobby with Rush hot on their heels. X stopped at the receptionist's desk, where a young blonde woman was boredly playing video games on the computer. "Hey, Kass." X called out. 

"Hey, X," Kassie Taylor returned. 

X leaned over the desk. "Kass, you wouldn't happen ta know where ol' Doc Cain is, would'ya?" 

Kassie leaned back on her chair and grinned. "Sure do. Try Conference Room 19." 

X and Mega Man ran full speed toward the elevator. "Thanks, Kass, you're the best!" X called out before the elevator doors closed behind him. 

Kassie smiled sweetly. "I know."   
  


************

  
  


Conference Room 19. This was the place. Mega Man grinned. "Hey, X. Check this out." X looked over to the other end of the hallway and saw Protoman pouting on a small wooden chair. He turned to check out the other end of the hall and found Zero in a similar position. 

X grinned. "Probably from the fight that resulted from Zero's little stunt earlier," he added with a chuckle before he and Mega Man strolled through the door. 

Once in the room, Mega Man gasped. Sitting around the conference table were seven people--three of which he expected to find. These were Dr. Cain, Iris, and Colonel. The other four were, Dr. Light, Roll, Dr. Wily, and... 

"Bass!" Rock muttered through clenched teeth. 

"Hello!" Bass said cheerfully. 

"What are you doing here?!" Mega Man screamed at the top of his voice. 

"That's my brother--right to the point," came a voice right behind him, followed by a chuckle. Mega Man turned to find Protoman and Zero standing in the doorway. 

"Hey, bro," Zero said, addressing Bass. 

Bass stared for a second in shock. His little brother, fighting for the good guys? Impossible! And yet...Bass recovered from his shock and leaned back with his feet resting on the table. "Well, Rock," Bass said the name with slight sarcasm, "I just saved these two characters"--indicating Dr. Light and Roll--"from a super powerful robot named Sigma and I just thought I'd drop 'em off here." 

Mega Man stopped short for a second. Then his eyes narrowed. "Do you really expect me to believe that!?" 

Bass just waved Mega Man's comment off. "Believe what you like." 

"He's right, Rock," Roll spoke up, earning wide-eyed stares from most of the people in the room. "He got Doc Light and me out before Sigma could do us in." 

Dr. Light sighed and said, "I hate to admit it, Rock, but Roll's right. Bass did help us out back there." 

Bass's ever-so-annoying grin got even wider. "Told'ya." 

Dr. Cain spoke for the first time since Rock and X arrived. "Mega Man, I know your personal feelings regarding Bass, but he and Wily are probably our best chance against Sigma." 

"Huh!?" X and Mega Man exclaimed at the same time. 

Dr. Cain continued. "They know the way to the new Maverick base as well as the easiest way through." 

Mega Man's eyes narrowed even more. "Well why should I believe that you'd help us?" 

Wily slammed his fist onto the oak table. "Because Sigma betrayed me, that's why! And I'm going to prove that no one betrays Dr. Wily and lives to tell about it!" 

Zero put a hand on Mega Man's shoulder. "Face it, Rock. Against Sigma we could use all the help we could get." 

Mega Man stared hard at Bass for another second before his face softened. "All right. I guess I could put up with him for a little while..." Mega Man offered a hand to Bass, who stood and shook it vigorously. 

"Well, Rock," Bass said, still grinning, "I guess we're partners this time." Before anyone realized what happened, a blue gloved fist planted itself right in Bass's face. "Owwww!" he whined as he crashed on the floor. "Whach'ya do that for?!" 

Mega Man's face hardened again as he folded his arms. "Lets get one thing straight here. My friends call me Rock, you can call me Mega Man." Mega Man grinned sweetly. "Do we understand each other?" 

"Perfectly," Bass muttered as he tried to stop his nose from bleeding. 

"Good!" Mega Man finished as he stormed out the door. 

"Rock wait!" Protoman cried out as he scrambled out the door after his brother.   
  


"Hey Rock!" Protoman yelled when he caught sight of his brother stalking down the hall. Rock stopped. When Protoman caught up to him, he asked, "Rocky, what was that all about?" 

Rock clenched his fist. "I can't help it Hadrian. I hate him. Worse that Wily even!" 

"Why, Rock? Just because he stole those parts that you and Rush were supposed to get..." 

Rock spun to face his brother. "It's not just that! He betrayed my trust! Do you know what that's like!? No, of course you don't." There were a few seconds of silence as Rock tried to get a hold of his emotions. When he finally calmed down, he asked, "Did you notice what Bass did when I hit him?" 

Protoman grinned. "What, that he went 'el splatto' all over the floor? That was great!" 

Mega Man grinned, then he grew serious as he answered, "No, he registered pain." Then he teleported away. 

Protoman was left pondering the significance of this revelation for a second before it dawned on him. Before, Bass had been nothing more than a robot. An advanced robot, to be sure--with some of the most convincing personality routines ever programmed into a robot--but he was a robot nonetheless. And robots don't feel pain. Only Bioroids feel pain. 


	10. Tragedy of a Robot Master

Chapter 9

  
  


Tragedy of a Robot Master

  
  


All of the many screens and monitors around the room glowed as they showed all the goings on around the Hunter Tower and the city beyond. All that is except one. Matt was using it to play video games. What else could he do? He'd designed the computer equipment to automatically tell him if anything out of the ordinairy was happening around base. The automatic door opened and was followed by the familiar smell of cigarette smoke. "Hey, Chip," came a familiar voice. 

"Bobby, put out that cigarette before I'm forced to hurt you," Matt answered, not taking his eyes off the screen. 

A lanky blonde man plopped down on the chair beside Matt. "Aw, c'mon, bro. It's just one smoke." 

Matt paused his game and glared at his brother. "This is a smoke-free zone and you know it!" 

Bobby Baker grinned as he blew a puff of smoke in his brother's face. "And, why is that, Mon Capitan?" 

Matt turned back to his game and answered, "Because sufforcating to death isn't a very fun sounding prospect to me." 

Suddenly a blue-gloved hand took Bobby's cigarette right out of his mouth. Both brothers spun to face the owner of the hand and found a diminuative figure in blue armor. He coulnd't have been much taller than four feet and seemed to be in his early teens. He was glaring at the cancer stick in his hand with disgust. "Y'know," he mused, "I never did get why some humans spend so much money a year just so they could die early." He crushed the cigarette to dust. "Do you know what kind of crap they put in these things!?" 

Bobby stood to his full six foot two height, towering over this kid that offended him. "Hey! Who do you think you are?!" 

The armored youth extended his hand. "Name's Mega Man. And you are?" 

That brought silence throughout the room. Silence, that is except for an annoying beeping sound comming from Matt's computer equipment. Matt spun in his hoverchair and called up an image of the disturbance. The disturbance was two Reploids, both injured, but the one with the red facemask didn't seem as bad off as the one with the sword replacing his right hand. That one was missing his legs! Plus there was a gaping hole in his chest revealing bare circutry and wires. The two were leaving a trail of black curculatory fluid in their wake. 

"Hey!" Mega Man exclaimed. "I know those two!" Then he was caught up in a beam of cyan light and dissapeared. 

Matt's jaw set in a straight line. "Bobby, get as many Hunters as you can."   
  


***********

  
  


Mega Man landed right in front of the injured Tengu Man and Sword Man. "Well, well, well," he said with a smirk. "If it ain't a couple'a representatives from Fashion Challenged Annonimous!" 

"Ha, ha, ha," Tengu Man said sarcastically. "That's so funny I forgot ta laugh. C'mon Mega Man, we've had a hard day." 

Five notes. That was the next thing the three robots heard. Five notes played on a flute. Then Protoman was standing next to his brother. "Sure, and we'll be sure ta make it worse." 

In a flash of gold light Bass appeared next to his former commerades. "Bass!" Tengu Man cried happily. 

"Hi, Tengu." Bass said with a sneer. Then he delivered the finest uppercut Mega Man ever saw. Bass caught the apparently fatally wounded Sword Man and let Tengu Man crash on the ground. "Watch it, Mega Man," Bass sneered. "You're next." Then he teleported away. 

Protoman whistled. "Man, what was that all about?" 

Mega Man shrugged. "I dunno, but Tengu Man's gettin' up again." 

Tengu Man stumbled to his feet, rubbing his jaw. "Ow, dang that hurt!" 

Mega Man and Protoman cast each other worried glances as the implications of that sank in. Then they aimed their arm cannons at the Robot Master again. "Woah!" Tengu Man yelped as he raised his hands (or his hand and his dagger at any rate) in the air. "Woahwoahwoahwoah! I ain't here ta fight. I'll go willingly." 

The two brothers lowered their arm cannons in confusion. Robot Masters never hesitated to attack either of them, especially Mega Man. "What's goin' on here?" Mega Man whispered to his brother. 

Protoman shrugged. "I dunno," he said in immitation of his brother. "But after the past day or two, nothin' really surprises me any more." 

"Got that right." Mega Man agreed. He turned to Tengu Man. "All right. We'll let ya in. But remember: one false move and you're scrap! Get it?" 

Tengu Man nodded. "Got it." 

Mega Man grinned. "Good! Now follow me..."   
  


*************

  
  


Later, inside the Hunter Tower, Mega Man, Protoman, X, and Zero listened intently to Bass, Roll, and Dr. Light as they told of their escape from Sigma. When they had finished, Bass turned to Tengu Man. "All right, Bucko, what's your story?" he asked increduloulsly. 

Tengu Man was obviously sheepish about the question. "Well, it's true that Sigma turned all us Robot Masters into Mavericks, but like Sword Man, I was struggling with the programming they gave me. When I saw Sword Man take Sigma on, I knew that was what I needed to do. The only thing I was able to do was get him out before Sigma totally finished him off." 

Before anyone could question his claims, Dr. Cain entered the room. Judging by his expression, he wasn't bearing good news about Sword Man. "Mega Man," Dr. Cain said solemnly. "He want's to see you." 

Mega Man was slightly startled, but he exited the room anyway. 

There was hardly any light in the operating room when Mega Man entered; just a small spotlight shining on Sword Man. When Mega Man got closer, he discovered that there was no evidence of the gap in his chest, but he was still dying. "Ah, Mega Man," Sword Man weakly managed to get out. "Come closer." Mega Man slowly stepped up to the operating table. "I have always respected you, you know," Sword Man croaked. "You firmly believed in what you thought was right, and I respect that. Now, I have a gift for you. Something I hope will help you stop the evil being done by Sigma. Take it and remember...." Sword Man could hardly finish his sentence as he took Mega Man's hand and placed it on his blade. A warm, tingling feeling rose up Mega Man's arm and throughout his body as his Variable Weapons System absorbed the Flame Sword. ".....Remember.....never lose your.....integre....ty...." Sword Man closed his eyes and let out a sigh as his soul seemed to leave his body. Mega Man stood there, stunned for a moment. Finally he spun on his heels and left. 

"Well," Protoman asked expectantly. "How'd it go?" 

Mega Man didn't answer right away. He was almost out the door before he gave his brother a sidelong glance and said, "Sigma's scrap!" 


	11. Dreams, Nightmares, and Prophecies...

Chapter 10

  
  


Dreams, Nightmares, and Prophecies

  
  


The day or two that followed consisted of planning for a raid on the Maverick HQ. Bass had drawn up a map of the base, and the easiest entrances to the base. "OK," Bass lectured pointing at the map. "There are two entrances that lead more or less directly to Sigma's central lab. Of course, these entrances are rather heavily guarded, but two small strike forces should be able to make it past the resistance." 

"Hmm...Makes sense," Mega Man had to admit. 

Bass nodded. "Let's all get a good night's sleep. We're gonna need it!"   
  


*************

  
  


Zero found himself in some sort of laboratory. A shadowy figure stood before him. By now Zero had recognized him as Dr. Wily, his creator. "Go," the figure said to the red Reploid. "Destroy X! He is my enemy!" 

"No!" Zero cried. "I will not destroy my best friend!" 

"You must," Wily replied. "I as your creator command you!" 

Zero was suddenly angry. "Just because you created me doesn't mean you control my destiny!" 

Wily grinned. "Oh, but I do. You'll see. One day you and X will be at each other's throats. I guarantee it!" 

"Not if I can help it!" Zero retorted as he leaped as his creator, intending on tackling him and beating the stuffing out of him. He didn't even reach his target before he got caught in an electric field. Pain was coursing though his entire body as he screamed in agony.   
  


"Ahhhh!" Zero cried as he sat straight up in his bed. "Oh, man. A nightmare!" Zero was concerned, though. Those nightmares had stopped occurring when Iris came along. Now what was causing them. "Probably the fact that Wily is actually here. Well, since I'm not gonna get any more sleep tonight; and since the night watchmen aren't expecting to see me out and about (and they happen to be the jumpiest Hunters on the force), I guess I'll see what's on the late night movie. 

Zero got out of bed, revealing the sleeveless tee shirt and red boxers he wore to sleep in, and left his bedroom.   
  


***********

  
  


Mega Man was running desperately through a strangely familiar metal hallway, though he couldn't identify where he was. He didn't know why he was running--he only knew that whatever it was, it was terrifying him. He rounded a corner and almost ran face first into Bass. "Yahh!" Mega Man screamed just before running down another hallway. He ran a short distance before coming across a small room. Mega Man stopped short and gasped. In this room, tied to the far wall, was none other than Dr. Light himself! "D,d,d,doc!" Mega Man cried as he ran to his creator's aide. 

"No, Rock!" Dr. Light cried. "It's a..." Mega Man suddenly felt a sharp pain run from his right shoulder down to his left hip. With a strangled cry, he fell to the ground. "...trap!" Dr. Light finished lamely. 

Mega Man painfully looked to see what had cut the huge gash in his chest and stared in shock. His attacker wore scarlet and white armor, had blonde hair that went down to his knees, and held up a sword like one would see on "Star Wars." "Z,Z,Z,Zero?" he muttered in surprise. Zero seemed to disappear as Bass rounded the hallway, followed closely by Protoman. "Bro!" Mega Man called out. "Help me!" 

Protoman gave Mega Man a strange look. "Why should I help you?" he asked mockingly. "I've decided that Bass is more my type, so I'm helping him defeat you once and for all!" 

Mega Man said nothing as the news sunk in. Then he screamed in pain as huge beams of plasma ripped through his body.   
  


***********

  
  


Hadrian awoke with a start. How could he do otherwise with the scream that erupted from the bed next to his. "Oh, man," he mumbled. As he stumbled out of his bed. Mumbling profanities under his breath, Hadrian stumbled over to his brothers's guest bed. He almost tripped over Rush, who was going slightly crazy with his master screaming like that. Hade started shaking his brother violently. "C'mon Rocky, wake up!" When that failed to produce results, he slapped him hard across the face. "WAKE UP!" 

Rock's eyes shot open and he punched his assailant right in the face. Hadrian stumbled backwards and landed right on Rush. Mega Man was fully awake now and he realized just what he did. "Oh, man--I did it again!" Rock looked down and saw the rather comical sight of his brother splattered across the floor with Rush's front end sticking out from under his right side, and his bottom half protruding from under his left. "Uh, sorry, bro," Rock muttered apologetically. 

Hadrian slowly lifted himself from off the dog. "What made you do that!?" he practically screamed. 

"Hey," Rock said defensively, "You woke me up from a nightmare!" 

"No kidding. You could wake the dead with that scream of yours!" Hadrian stopped. "Is it just me, or do you seem to have nightmares pretty often?" 

Rock sighed. "It's definitely not just you. And all my nightmares seem to be about you destroying me." 

Hadrian made a show of yawning and stretching. "Oh, well. No harm done. Good night, Rocky." 

Rock was glad that Hadrian was pretending that the entire exchange didn't happen. He was about to go back to sleep when he noticed something. "You wear that to bed even!?" he asked in shock. 

Hadrian knew he was talking about his characteristic yellow scarf. "Of course," he replied with that grin of his.   
  


****************

  
  


X found himself in that same dark hallway, and in the distance he heard the familiar sound of a battle taking place. "Oh, no!" he yelled into the air. "I've already seen a friend of mine die once in this dream! I'm not gonna go through that again!" 

Since X wouldn't go himself, his dream took them there automatically. This time Mega Man wasn't battling with Bass, rather with Zero. "Huh?!" X cried in surprise. 

The battle played out quite similarly to the way it did before, with a few obvious changes. Protoman arrived, just as before...but this time, Zero got away before he could do anything to him. When the sequence finally played out, the place completely faded out, just as before. "Well, Rocky," a familiar voice said behind him. "Whaddya think of this little setup?" 

X spun around to face a ghostly figure that resembled Protoman. "What did you call me?" he asked in surprise. 

Protoman grinned. "Well, that's who you are! Ya might not remember it, but you are my little bro. Gee you've gotten big!" Silence prevailed for a second, then Protoman became all business. "I assume that the Doc had already appeared to ya." 

"Yeah, he has," X answered. 

"And I assume that he's told you about the danger approaching." 

"Yes..." 

"Good! That makes my job easier. Doc Cain seems to think that the past is safe because of that temporal whatsit that surrounds us 'bots from the past. To some extent, he's correct, but if you don't fix the problem soon, then we might all be 'erased' from time." 

"Hadrian," X said hesitantly. "What is it I'm supposed to stop, anyway?" 

Protoman smiled, not the cocky grin that he usually flashed, but a sad sort of smile. "Wish I could tell you, but I can't. All I can tell you is that it has something to do with us people from the past. Oh, and don't tell Little Rock about what you see in these dreams." 

X rolled his eyes. "Well, duh! I figured that part out already." 

Protoman flashed his ever present grin again. "I thought you would. You always were a smart boy. Not as smart as me, of course, but then, who is?" 

Protoman disappeared before X could protest, and suddenly X found himself falling...and falling...and falling...   
  


***************

  
  


Zero was lounging on the couch thumbing through a TV Guide magazine. Some channel or other was showing back-to-back Terminator that night, but Zero quickly decided against it. Robots out to destroy the Human Race was less science fiction and more fact than his tastes would have allowed. He was interrupted in his "channel surfing" by a loud THUMP from X's room. "Aw, man," Zero muttered as he ran through the door to his friend's personal space. "Now what?" 

Zero stopped short just inside the doorway and suddenly had to repress a laugh. There was X, on the floor, completely tangled up in his sheets, trying to get out. "What's this?" Zero asked mockingly. "The great and powerful leader of the Maverick Hunters can't even defeat his own bed sheets?" 

X glared at his friend. "Oh, shut up and help me out, will you!?" 

Zero did, but he couldn't help but laugh a little at X's plight as he did so. "So, X, wanna watch the late night movie with me? I hear that the Terminator is coming on in a second." 

"Ug," X replied as he gave his friend a "thumbs down" at the suggestion. That was one thing he and Zero definitely agreed on. 

Suddenly red lights started flashing as an alarm began blaring out the most annoying honking noise either Reploids had ever heard. Iris stormed in the room. Judging from her tousled hair and the slightly glazed look in her eyes, she had just awakened, but she was fully armored. "Guys, we have a problem!" 

X pulled a face. "Problems shmoblems! We always have problems at this place." 

Zero glared at X for a second and asked, "What is it, Iris?" 

"The Mavericks found where we are hiding a good portion of New York's population! There's an army of 'em there as we speak!" 

Zero chose this time to start cursing. 


	12. 'Round and 'Round and 'Round we Go...

Chapter 11

  
  


'Round and 'round and 'round we go...

  
  


Rock and Hadrian burst in the room commonly known as the "War Room," confusion showing clearly on their faces. "What's goin' on, here?" Rock asked as he glanced at the setup around him. Around the high-tech holograph table sat Dr. Cain, Zero, X, Iris, Colonel, and Matt. 

Everyone grinned as the two robots came in. "Nice getup," X remarked with a snicker. 

Rock and Hadrian glanced themselves over. They were both wearing white T-shirts and sweat pants--Rock's blue and Hadrian's red--and the black hair on both of their heads was totally messed up. Hadrian, of course, was wearing his yellow scarf. "Well, we forgot to hit the Armor Recall, so sue us," Hadrian grumbled as he took his seat. 

"So, Matt," Dr. Cain broke in before Zero could add any more comments. "I think you need to show everyone what you showed me a few minutes ago." 

"Right," Matt said drowsily. Obviously he only woke up a few minutes ago. "This is a holo-tape my security cameras picked up." 

The holo-table came to life, sending a column of green light clear to the ceiling. Within the light was a fully three dimensional image of a residential district in ruin. Just about all the Mavericks imaginable was terrorizing the neighborhood while Hunters were attempting to evacuate the humans. Mega Man's eyes widened as he saw Sting Chameleon (he'd studied the Mavericks until he knew them as well as Robot Masters) target a small family consisting of a father, a mother, and two young children--a boy and a girl. He saw as Sting send two of his "stingers" into the father's back. "No..." he whispered to himself. _A robot must never harm a human being._

X could barely contain his rage as Magma Dragoon attacked the mother, leaving the two children orphans. _Your duty is to protect the humans from the Mavericks._

Bass didn't have as powerful a reaction as the children fell to the Mavericks as the both the Blue Bombers were experiencing. Nevertheless, his conscience began to nag:_ What a waste_. And Bass actually agreed for a change. Sure he was big on destruction and mayhem, but what did killing a defenseless family of humans prove? _Absolutely nothing!_

Suddenly there was a collective cry of rage, defiance, and sorrow from Mega Man and X as they stood simultaneously. "Now, Rock, don't be doin' anything we'll all regret in the mornin'..." Hadrian started to say. 

"X, X, calm down, will ya...?" Zero was coaxing his friend. 

All in the room was blinded by a bright light and when it subsided, Mega Man was fully armored and X had on his "advanced" armor. "Ohh, man..." Hadrian and Zero muttered before the blue robots teleported out. 

Bass started letting out with a string of language that would have made a sailor blush. He let everyone in the room know exactly how he felt about, X, Mega Man, and the horses they rode in on. Zero, meanwhile, was trying to get everyone organized. "OK, everybody, calm down...we can handle this...Bass, would you be a pal and just SHUT UP for a second!? Thank you." Now Zero had everyone's attention--even Bass's. 

"Now, Colonel, in X's absence I have authority over his unit. I'm placing you in charge. Get those Hunters over there as fast as you can!" 

"Yessir!" 

"Iris, I'm placing you in charge of my unit." 

Iris's eyes widened slightly at that. "Why's that?" 

Zero grinned. "'Cause Proto and I are gonna help X and Rock, that's why!" Now Zero turned to Matt. "Chip, get all the other Hunters over there that you can. We're gonna need a lot every man, woman, and 'ploid we can get over there!" 

Matt looked positively downtrodden. "How'm I s'posed t'do that?" he asked, still not entirely awake yet. 

"I don't care how you do it--use the intercom, call 'em all up individually, glide up and down the halls naked screaming 'the Mavericks are coming, the Mavericks are coming'--just get them over there! Let's get goin' Hadrian!" With that, Hadrian armored up. Just as they were about to teleport away, Roll interrupted them. 

"Wait! I wanna go, too!" 

Protoman grinned. "Sorry, sis. There ain't anything you can do." 

Mega Man had said that to her before, but there was something about the way Protoman said it that made Roll's circulation fluids boil. _That's the last time you're gonna say that to me!_

As Protoman and Zero teleported away, Dr. Light turned and made as if to go. Roll saw something about his manner--a slight shuffle in his step, a slight stoop in his shoulders--that let Roll know that something was wrong. She ran out the door after him. 

"What's wrong, Doc?" 

Dr. light turned and gave Roll a weak smile. "Nothing, Roll. Nothing." 

Roll made a show of impatience. "Don't give me that, Doc! I know something's wrong and I want to know what it is!" 

"You know me too well," Light muttered. "I suppose that I could tell you. I've always been a man that believed in peace. After all--you, Rock, and all the original Robot Masters were originally built to serve Mankind. The only reason I made the modifications to Rock and made him a fighting machine was to keep the peace. Now I find that my creations have led to war, decay, and the near-extinction of the human race. It's just a little hard for me to gather." 

Dr. Light turned and began to walk to his borrowed quarters. "Dr. Light." Dr. Light stopped for more that the simple reason that Roll called him "Dr. Light" rather than just "Doc." There was something in her voice. Something that sounded different. Dr. Light turned to face his "daughter." 

"Look, Doc," she began. "I know this is the future and everythin', and I know we're standing knee deep in it, but you must realize the future still ain't set in stone. I mean, this is one of many different possibilities. Every choice we make sends our time through different paths. When we get home, we could change all of this, for better or worse, right?" 

Dr. Light smiled. "Roll, sometimes you can be so ditzy, and other times you can be so mature." He placed a hand on her shoulder. "How did I end up with a daughter like you?" 

Roll grinned. "Just lucky I guess! See ya!" With that, Roll turned on her heel and ran down the hall. Dr. Light chuckled to himself and turned the other way.   
  


**********

  
  


Mega Man and X teleported right in the very center of the group of Mavericks. They had their backs to each other, their arms were folded, and they both had an expression on their faces that made the other Mavericks back away, even though they outnumbered the two robots at least twenty to one. 

"You guys have really asked for it," Mega Man said menacingly. 

"You killed humans on my watch," X added. 

"Big mistake!" they both said simultaneously. 

With that, they struck. And they took the Mavericks by such surprise that it took them a few seconds to recover. And those few seconds cost several Mavericks their lives. 

Vile, meanwhile, watched the battle from above, on the roof of a nearby skyscraper. "Idiots!" he screamed into his receiver, which was tuned in to all their comm devices. "There's only two of them!!!" 

"Not quite!" came a voice from behind. Vile spun to find Protoman standing behind him, arms folded and scarf flapping in the wind. "Let's get ready to rumbllllllle!"   
  


Finally, X and Mega Man had been subdued, beaten, and frozen solid by Frost Walrus and Blizzard Buffalo, two of the Largest Mavericks in the entire army. "Well, that was easy," Blizzard said casually. 

"Yeah, too bad they destroyed Chill Penguin. He was da man!" 

Suddenly Blizzard Buffalo face went from one to amusement to one of pain. "Uh, Buffalo...?" Frost Walrus asked. 

Blizzard Buffalo toppled over, and behind him stood Zero, Beam Saber drawn. "Hi, guys!" he said cheerfully. "Didn't miss anything, did I?" 

With that, Bass, in his Super Adapter, strolled in from behind his "brother." "Hmmm..." he muttered inspecting the ice blocks that Mega Man and X were trapped in. "This should do it." He then shot both ice blocks, which shattered instantly, releasing the Blue Bombers. 

Zero knelt down next to his friends. "You guys OK?" he asked. 

"N-n-n-n-no! We're f-f-f-f-f-f-freezing!" Mega Man responded--and Bass couldn't help but grin. 

Bass looked up and was all business once again. "Looks like the cavalry's here," he stated, amusement still in his voice. As soon as he said that, all the Reploids in the immediate vicinity turned to look. 

"Ah, Colonel," Frost Walrus said with a grin, or at least as much of a grin that his saber-like tusks allowed. "How nice of you to show up." 

Colonel scowled. "I had thought that you were an honorable Reploid, Frost; now I see that I was wrong." 

"What do you mean?" Frost Walrus asked dismisively. "I'm just living up to what Repliforce always stood for." 

"Wrong, _Maverick,_ we believed that Reploids should be independent from the human race _without harming the Humans!"_

"Maybe, but I've learned the truth from Sigma. It is you who are the disgrace to Repliforce!" 

Frost Walrus erupted into wild laughter, but it was cut short as Colonel dashed up to him and lodged his Beam Saber in Frost Walrus's chest panel. With a wicked grin, Colonel said, "I don't think, so." With that, Colonel jerked his saber to one side, then tore it back out of his victim. Frost Walrus fell with a clang... 

Colonel pointed his beam saber to the sky. "Now, 16th Unit--Attack!" Suddenly a large group of Reploids piled out of the allyways in the neighborhood, yelling war cries. 

Down the road, Iris stood with a much smaller group of Reploids, and a human, behind her. "You heard the man!" she cried. "Attack!" 

Tengu Man, the newest member of the double zero unit, lifted himself into the air. "In other words, gents--it's time to kick the tires an' light the fires! Yeehaw!"   
  


************

  
  


Protoman wasn't having much luck at all. Vile had him in a nasty headlock that was turning his vision red. "Ha, ha, ha!" Vile laughed. "You're not as cool now, are ya?" 

"We'll....see....about....that!" Protoman gasped out. He was cut short by a cry of pain from Vile as his captor practically toppled over. Protoman was freed from his death grip and spun around to see his savior. "What the..." 

"Hi, bro!" Roll said with a grin. She was pointing a plasma pistol at Vile's chest, and the pistol was smoking at the end. "Having fun without me I see!" 

"Oooh, a pretty girl," Vile sneered. "You'll look even better when I rearrange your face!" With that Vile gave Protoman a wicked backhand that sent him flying over the side of the building. He wasn't worried. After all, he and Mega Man both had special shock absorbers in their legs--meaning that they could easily survive a fall from almost any height as long as they landed on his feet. It was a simple matter for himself to flip over and land on his feet, right in the middle of a war zone. 

Mega Man just happened to be running past. "Rock!" Protoman yelled, stopping him in his tracks. "Roll's on the roof of that building, and he's fighting Vile!" 

Mega Man looked up to the roof. "Oh, man..." he muttered as he activated a special frequency into his commuticator. "RUSH JET!" 

At his master's command, Rust teleported in front of him and transformed into Rush Jet Mode. Mega Man hopped on it. "Are you comming?" he asked his brother. 

"No, thanks," Protoman answered as he saw a flash of dark blue in the corner of his eye. "I have some personal business of my own to catch up on!" 

Mega Man just shrugged and flew his dog straight up the building.   
  


**********

  
  


Vile had Roll's throat in a death grip. She was nearly unconscious and circulatory fluids were leaking out of the corner of her mouth. Vile drew his fist back to hit her again. "This'll teach you to shoot someone in the back, girlie!" he sneered. 

Suddenly, he fell as he was blasted in the back again. Vile spun to see Mega Man flying straight for him, with a furious expression on his face. "You're pretty good at beatin' up on defenseless girls, Vile," he screamed. "Let's see how well you do against someone who hits back!" 

"Try to imagine," Vile said as he shot a plasma bolt from his shoulder cannon. "How little I care!" 

The bolt took Rush right on the underside. With a yelp, he fell to the ground, throwing his master right off. "Ahh!" Mega Man yelped, as his right arm scraped against the concrete. Vile hoped onto the concrete barrier designed to keep anyone on the roof from falling off. "Don't take another step, or the broad becomes one more order of street pizza!" 

Mega Man clenched his fists. You're sick, Vile. Real sick! Huh?" Mega Man noticed Roll and she was looking right at him, almost as if she were sending a silent message. Roll winked, and Mega Man knew what he had to do. "Hey, Vile--think fast!" Mega Man sent a large blast of plasma at Vile's chest, and it hit dead on--sending Vile and Roll over the side. "Roll!" Mega Man cried as he prepared to dive after her. 

Suddenly, Vile leaped up from seemingly nowhere, dilivering a nasty backhand that sent Mega Man hurtling across the roof. "Well, that looked unpleasant." Vile said with an invisible sneer. 

"Not as unpleasant as your face!" Mega Man retorted as he flipped to his feet. "There's bound to be a reason for that mask of yours!" Despite Mega Man's flippant words, he knew that Vile had won. He'd delayed Mega Man enough that there was no way he could get to Roll in time! 


	13. ...And Where We Stop...

Chapter 12

And Where We Stop...

  
  


Roll couldn't believe it. She was sure that Vile would have gone over the edge just as she had. The difference, of course, was that Rock would catch her and use those shock absorbers in his legs to land easily. But Vile had better reflexes than either of them could have expected. He simply dropped Roll, grabbed the edge of the building and flipped himself over to engage Mega Man. This left Roll hurtling toward the cement far below-and getting closer every microsecond. Roll did what anyone else would have done. She screamed.

****************

Protoman, however, was having the time of his life, and at Grenade Man's expense. Grenade Man surprised him during their last scuffle with the Mavericks, and won easily as a result. But the element of surprise was something that Protoman reveled in. It didn't take much for him to destroy the former Robot Master. He had just extracted Grenade Man's weapon chip and installed it in his own Weapons System when he heard the scream. It was amazing he did, really, because of all the noise and chaos going on all around him. He looked up just as Bass burst through some Mavericks and joined him. What Protoman saw made him stop short. "Ohmygosh! ROLL!" he shouted.

At that Bass looked up and for a second he wore an expression very similar to that of Protoman. However, he recovered almost instantly and said, "I got her." before activating the jet thrusters of his Super Adaptor to fly up to get her. Protoman watched him go for a second in amazement before a stray shot reminded him of the battle at hand.

It was actually quite spectacular, Bass's rescue. It was pretty much straight from an old super hero comic. He maneuvered himself directly underneath Roll and caught her easily. Then Roll did something quite unexpected-to Bass at least. She wrapped her arms around his neck and gave him a long hard kiss right on the lips. Bass's eyes widened for a second before he realized he liked this sudden turn and returned the favor full force. When they finally came up for air, Bass said-slightly out of breath-"Y'know, I should save you more often."

Roll just giggled. Then her eyes widened and she yelled "Look out!"

Bass simply flew straight up as Storm Owl and Storm Eagle collided with each other directly below, where he was a split second ago.

**************

Vile found himself sprawled out on the roof again. He just couldn't believe what was happening. Mega Man was an inferior model after all-Vile should have been winning this fight.But for some reason, since Vile threw Roll over the side, Rock retalliated with more force than he had thought possible. Mega Man grabbed Vile by the throat and hauled him to his feet again. With their faces inches apart, Mega Man managed to whisper "You are dead, Vile." Then he delivered a quick blow to Vile's stomach followed by a devastating right hook to the face that shattered part of Vile's visor. Mega Man finished off with an uppercut that laid Vile flat again.

Vile managed to shake the stars out in front of his eyes in time to see that Mega Man's normally blue armor had changed hue to a red and gold color scheme. "Oh, no..." Vile muttered. If a color change in Mega Man's armor meant the same thing as it did with X's (and there was no reason to assume otherwise) then Vile was in big trouble. With a primal cry, Mega Man dashed up to Vile, and as he did so a fiery blade formed in his fist. Mega Man fought like he never had before, slashing Vile over and over again, finally sending him toppling over the edge of the building. Vile landed in a dumpster with such force that he might have gone through the bottom of it. Mega Man leaped off the building after him and landed safely on his feet. Without wasting another moment, Mega Man dug through the garbage and finally dragged Vile out. Mega Man then pinned him against the wall with one hand and drew the other back in order to deliver the finishing blow. Vile's now revealed blood-red eye did not flinch away. "Very good, Mega Man," he managed to rasp. "I never thought you'd be as good a warrior as you are. However, this is not the last you will hear from me." With that, Vile hit a button on his wrist and disappeared in a beam of violet light.

"Vile!" Mega Man yelled out in frustration. "Come back here! VILE!!" Mega Man fell to his knees and hit the ground with his fists. Had he been physically capable, Mega Man would have wept.

"Y'know, Mega Man," came a familiar sardonic voice behind him. "Throwing things off buildings is illegal. You could have hurt somebody."

Mega Man turned and saw Bass with Roll-unharmed-in his arms. "Roll!" Mega Man cried in relief. Roll squirmed from Bass's firm yet gentile hold and ran for Mega Man and the two of them gave each other a long hug. Bass folded his arms and smirked at the sight. Mega Man broke off from Roll and extended a hand to Bass. "Thanks, man," he said with a smile on his face. "I don't know what I would have done without my sister."

Bass looked at the hand in surprise. He remembered what happened last time he accepted a handshake from Mega Man, but this time he seemed to be sincere. Bass almost took the hand, but after a second his face hardened and he turned his back on the Blue Bomber. "I didn't save her for you, all right? Now let's find the others." With that he stalked off.

Mega Man watched Bass walk off in concern. _Well, if you didn't save her for me, then why did you save her at all? It ain't like you make it a habit or anything..._ Mega Man looked at Roll, who was watching Bass with an expression he couldn't quite read. _Hmmmm....._

But that was a puzzle for another time. "Roll," Mega Man said with an air of authority that he rarely used. "It's too dangerous here for you. I want you to go up and get Rush-he should be recovered by now-and use his teleporter to take you back to MHHQ."

Roll nodded. "Sure thing, Rock," she said as she hurried up the ladder. Mega Man turned and followed Bass out of the alley.

*************

The battle was over. Burned out husks of metal and cracked circuit boards littered the impromptu battlefield. The Hunters came out pretty well, with only a few major injuries. As the other members of the 17th unit and 00 unit were clearing the debris, Mega Man, Protoman, Bass, Zero, X, Iris, and Colonel were clustered in a group. "Well, Bass, whaddya think?" Zero asked.

Bass shook his head. "We created a pretty good dent in their army, but not so much that we can expect the defenses around those two entrances to lighten up too much. Still, this would be the best time to strike. We might be able to get the Mavericks-except for Sigma of course-off guard enough to make the trek quite a bit easier." The others nodded. "You do remember the plan, right?"

X grinned. "Sure, you take the high road and we'll take the low road and we'll reach Sigma before you."

The others groaned and Zero smacked X upside the head. "I bet you were waiting all day to say that, weren't you?" X rubbed the back of his head and grinned with an I-was-just-trying-to-lighten-the-mood look. "Anyways, it wouldn't be a good idea for all of us to go to the fortress. We're gonna need somebody with field experience and leadership qualities at MHHQ just in case the Mavericks decide to attack again. Colonel, do you think you can handle it?"

Colonel gave Zero a slightly prideful smile. "I was second in command to one of the most powerful armies in history. What do you think?"

Bass nodded. "Okay. I think the best course of action would be if Mega Man, Protoman, and myself take the "high road," as X so _cleverly_ put it, while you Reploids take the "low." It would be best if the teams were made up of the 'bots that know each other best."

The others nodded their agreement. "Alright, then, team," Mega Man said with a gleam in his eyes. "Let's do this!" With that, the team broke and went in opposite directions-the Bioroids dropping down a manhole and the Reploids heading down to an abandoned Subway Station.

**********

Mega Man, Protoman, and Bass made their way down the sewer tunnel in silence. Bass stopped and pressed in a brick that looked like all the other bricks that made up the walls. However, this action opened up a door. Mega Man stared at the dark opening with a slight sense of forboding. _Into the belly of the beast_. Mega Man shook his head. _What's gotten over me? This won't be any different than busting up one of Wily's fortresses._ "You go first Bass," he said, trying to break up the unease he was feeling. "I trust you about as far as Wily could throw you."

**********

Meanwhile, X, Zero, and Iris were making their way down a so far deserted corridor. X and Zero kept darting their eyes this way and that, checking out everything. Iris finally got fed up with the two men she was with. "Would you two STOP that!? Nothing's even attacked yet!"

X gave her a bitter grin. "When you're in one of Sigma's fortresses, that's the most dangerous places to be." Iris could only give him a blank stare, then shrugged, these guys have done this four times already. It would probably be best to trust their judgement.

X had other things on his mind. _I can't shake the feeling that this battle is one our smaller concerns right now. If we don't get everyone back to the era they belong, something's gonna happen. Something BIG..._


	14. Into the Belly of the Beast.

Chapter 13

Into the Belly of the Beast

  
  


Bass bit off a curse as another plasma blast hit him in the shoulder before he returned the favor. Protoman grinned as he blocked several shots with his Protoshield. "Hey, YOU were the one who said it was gonna get hot 'n heavy."

Bass spun around and drove his fist into one of the many copter-like drones that suddenly filled the hallway. "Yeah, but this is a _least_ twice the security that's supposed to be here!"

Mega Man fired off another huge beam of plasma, wiping out a line of said drones. He'd really have to thank Auto for that enhancement one day. It was keeping him alive now much as it did in his latest match with the Green Devil a few weeks back. "So what are you saying, exactly?" he asked Bass.

Bass grimaced as he somersaulted backwards to avoid another five shots, took out a couple of drones with a fully charged shot of his own, and finished off by grabbing and smashing two more together. "I don't know, either someone's trying to delay us, or they're inviting our Reploid buds to something _really _unpleasant!"

***********

X, Zero, and Iris warily stalked down the all-brick corridor. Not so much as a Met had attacked them yet, and it was really fraying on the two male Reploids' nerves. "I don't like this," X muttered. "Where's all the little security drones who's only pleasure in life is to shoot at unsuspecting tresspassers?"

"I'm with you, X," Zero replied. "It's like that old adage-How did it go, again?-'Welcome to my parlor said the spider to the fly.'"

Iris could not repress a shiver.

Zero noticed Iris's discomfort. "Oh, sorry," he said with a grin. "X and I have a tendency to be kinda dramatic sometimes."

X nodded, though he did not stop scanning the area around him. "Yeah, it's probably nothin'. And even if Siggy does have a trap set for us, it won't be anything we can't handle. We _have _done this before, y'know."

Iris smiled slightly at her friends' assurances, but something still troubled her. Zero seemed to believe these words wholeheartedly. He felt himself invincible, and why wouldn't he? He'd survived death itself once. X however...he was agitated to say the least, but Iris didn't think it really had to do with whatever trap Sigma had set for them. Rather, something else seemed to be bothering him. Something...bigger, if that could be possible. Funny that she'd notice this while X's best friend missed it. And yet...

Iris glanced at Zero. He didn't seem to be bothered by anything. He was even whistling the theme from _The Andy Griffith Show_ as he scanned the area around him. However, his gaze _did _seem to shift to X's direction more than any other. Maybe Zero noticed after all. Iris couldn't help it. She shivered again.

***********

Back at Maverick Hunter HQ, Wily was growing restless. He was allowed fairly free access around the tower, but he was always accompanied by a Hunter-a _human_ hunter. The Hunters were smart, Wily had to give them that. He'd guessed that blasted Light tipped them off to his penchant for reprogramming robots. This time, though, they made a mistake. They had him followed by that idiotic _cripple_ of all people. They seemed to forget that robotics was simply another form of mechanical engineering, and a robotisict could easily tinker with basic mechanical constructs. _Like Matt Baker's hover chair._

It was just outside the Ride Armor hanger that Wily made his move. He was nonchalantly strolling past the door that led to the hanger when he flicked a small chip behind him to the chair. Matt instantly lost control of his chair and toppled over. Matt propped himself up on his elbows as Wily gave him a mocking salute. "So long, sucker!" Wily said as he ran though the doorway with the best maniacal laugh he could muster-which was pretty good by now, actually-and locked the door shut as soon as he was through to the other side.

Matt crawled to his hover chair and somehow managed to right it again. Then he picked off the little device off of the chair and crushed it between his thumb an forefinger, which gave him control of the chair again once he got in it. He brought a cel phone-style device from one of the armrests and punched in the number for Dr. Cain's room. "Dr. Cain, we got problems..." he said into the reciever.

"Yes, Matthew, what is it?" came Dr. Cain's voice from the other end.

"Well, Doc, Wily kinda locked himself into the Ride Armor hanger."

Dr. Cain something that made Matt's eyes widen to about twice their normal size. He'd heard cussing before, of course. After all, Zero could cuss in seven different languages, but coming from Dr. Cain, now _that_ was shocking.

*************

Wily's jaw practically hit the floor when he saw the materials he had to work with. There was the Chimaera-the basic Riding Armor design that looked very much like Guts Man expanded to twice his normal size without the head built in. It's fists were deadly powerful. Then there was the Hawk-built with powerful rocket launchers and jet propulsion on its back for short ranged flight. The Kangeroo-named for no particular reason, but anyone would feel nervous facing with those spinning rotary drills. Finally, there was the Frog-excellent for underwater maneuvering, but pratically worthless on land. It's torpedo launcher could come in handy, though. Any one of these walking tanks could cause serious damage to any foe. Once Wily combined them together...

"Hello, Albert," came a soft-spoken voice that took Wily completely by surprise. It was Dr. Light.

"Xavier," Wily growled between clenched teeth. "How did you know...?"

Dr. Light grinned. "Albert, I know you almost as well as I know myself. You may have changed from the Albert Wily I was once friends with, but you are still you."

"So, now you caught me. What're you going to do. You have no weapons on you."

Light shrugged. "Neither do you. All I'd have to do is unlock the door and the Hunters will be all over you."

Wily paled. That insufferable Thomas Xavier Light was right. But on the other hand... "Well, what are you waiting for?"

"I figured I'd give you a chance to explain yourself, first."

Wily's eyes practically bugged out of their sockets. After all he'd done to the man during all these years of war, and he was still going to give him a chance to explain himself? After a second or so, he regained his composure. "Fair enough. Sigma betrayed me. NO one does that and lives! I simply want to teach him a lesson."

Dr. Light nodded. "Fine, then. I'll help you." Wily's eyes bugged out again. "BUT," he added with such uncharacteristic fire in his gaze that Wily almost took a step back. "If you turn around and try to use this little toy of yours on Rock or Hadrian, may Heaven help you."

*****************

Meanwhile, in Sigma's subterranean fortress, Mega Man, Protoman, and Bass finally found themselves in a reprieve from the fighting. They were battered, bruised, bleeding, and in foul moods overall. Protoman, leaning heavily against the wall said to Bass, "Y'know, I thought you said the defenses were going to be somewhat lighter after the beating we gave the Mavericks topside."

Bass was sitting on the floor with his back against the opposite wall to Protoman. He was petting Treble who he had temporarily separated from during the lull. "They _should_ be," he responded testily. "I think Sigma rerouted the forces that were guarding the path that X and Zero took our way."

Mega Man was leaning against one of the walls himself. "But, why in the name of all that's reasonable would Siggy do that?"

Bass shook his head. Mega Man made it a habit not to swear, usually, and he came up with some strange expressions to use instead. "Oh, come on Mega Man! You've fought against maniacal villains enough that you should be able to figure it out on your own!"

Mega Man thought for a second then nodded to himself. "Our Reploid friends are probably headed right into a trap." 

Bass gave Mega Man one of his insufferable grins. "Wow, got it in one."

Protoman pushed off from the wall and started down the hallway. "Then I'd suggest we get a move on. They might need our help."

************

X, Zero, and Iris made it to the main lab with absolutely no resistance whatsoever. By now all three of them were ready to jump at the slightest movement. When they opened the door to the lab, all that was there was Dr. Doppler. "Well, I see you finally found your way here," he said with a smirk.

Zero glared at Doppler. "Yeah, well, it ain't that hard when all the defenses got shut off or rerouted. Now, let's get this little trap of yours over with, shall we?"

"If you insist..." Doppler said ominously as he put on a pair of protective goggles. He then hit a switch and all the lights went out. Before either of the three Hunters could adjust their sights to night vision, their optics were assaulted by what seemed to be an impossibly bright, impossibly fast strobe. Then all went dark again. When Doppler turned the lights back on, all three Hunters were lying on the ground, unconcious.


	15. 

Chapter 14

And so It Continues.

  
  


The first thing Zero was aware of was the hard surface pressed against his cheek. Soon, he began to sense other things, the coldness of the room, the sound of an electric current nearby. Finally, his systems were able to drag him to full consciousness. He started to get to his knees when his head suddenly felt like a spike got driven through it. Zero grit his teeth and waited for the pain to subside without so much as crying out. Finally he was able to sit all the way up and open his eyes. He didn't like what he saw.

Zero was trapped in an electric cage, much like the one Vile had him trapped in years ago only bigger. There was a cage to his right which held Iris, who was just awakening from the effects of the trap herself. Zero reached to his back to see if his Saber was still there. It wasn't. When he looked down at his wrists he saw they were covered in gleaming metal wristbands that would keep him from forming his arms into arm cannons. _Not that I've been using 'em much recently anyways,_ he thought to himself.

"Well, it's nice to see you back in the land of the living."

Zero's circulatory fluids went cold at the voice that rang out through the lab. Cold. Calculating. Emotionless. Sigma! Then, the abomination came into Zero's view. He was just as imposing as he ever was, seven feet tall, built with the look of bulging muscles, various shades of green, grey, and white armor, and his face! The one thing that never changed from body to body was Sigma's face. The head was bald, with no helmet, but the red crystal on his forehead showed where his control chip was. His mouth was pulled up in a smile that touched no other part of his face. And along his blank solid blue eyes were the scars. Those scars had been given to Sigma by Zero years ago, when situations were reversed. Back then, Sigma was the Hunter and Zero was the Maverick. Now, even after having his entire body rebuilt more than four times, he still wore those scars as a badge of honor.

Zero growled. "What do you want, you slimy son of a..."

"Now, Zero," Sigma returned with just a hint of amusement. "No need to be calling names. Profanity is so infantile, after all."

Zero's grin was absolutely evil. "Yeah, well let's see how 'infantile' I can be, shall we?" And then he laid into a verbal onslaught that would have made the entire _Navy_ blush. He dug through his entire cache of put-downs, slurs, and offensive four letter words-which, as mentioned before, is quite extensive and spans several different languages. The bashing lasted about ten minutes straight, and Zero had to smile inwardly as he went at Sigma's reaction-or rather, his deadly _lack_ of reaction. Zero knew that the only reason he hadn't been killed yet was because Sigma thought he could be swayed to the Maverick cause and that he shouldn't be pushing his luck, but at the moment, he didn't care. Finally, Zero finished off with an "...and the horse you came in on!"

In the other cage, Iris (who was rather flustered herself) had to supply a brief applause. After all, one had to be incredibly brave, stupid, or crazy to actually say such things to Sigma's face. Zero smirked. It was pretty obvious that if Sigma had blood vessels to bulge out of his temples, they would have burst. Sigma took a couple of seconds to regain his composure. "Are you quite done?" he asked as soon as he was sure he could get the words out of his constricted throat.

Zero folded his arms, satisfied that he won even as minor a victory as this. "Quite."

************

"Oh, man. I _hate_ these things!"

Protoman grinned at his brother. "Whassamader, Rock? It's just an automatic gate. They have 'em all over the place."

Mega Man glowered at his older brother. "Maybe so, Hade. But whenever I come across one of these things in a crazy world dominator's fortress, it always leads ta trouble."

The three Bioroids had been battling their way steadily through Sigma's underground fortress, the surroundings slowly getting more high tech as they went. Unfortunately, the fighting only got harder the deeper they went. They probably would have been toast already had Bass not revealed he had five E-Tanks with him from the past. All three of them had used one by now, leaving two for later use.

Bass turned to his two companions. "Well, are we goin' in or what?" he asked in annoyance.

Mega Man nodded and walked up to the door. Just like he expected, motion sensors picked him up and the door opened. When the three Bioroids were on the other side, the door closed. Protoman hit it a couple of times with his fists. "Locked."

Mega Man smirked. "No big surprise there."

"Nice to see you could make it," hissed a familiar voice. Bass, Protoman, and Mega Man spun to face it. It was Vile. He stood in the center of a large room with his arms folded and his eyes glowing though his now whole mask.

Mega Man smirked. "I see you got yourself fixed from the beating I gave you last time."

Vile nodded and withdrew a small sphere from somewhere in his armor. "You could say that." He hit a button on the sphere and it began to glow purple. He threw it high in the air and a bolt of energy erupted from it, surrounding him. The thee other robots in the room had to cover their eyes. When they opened them again, all three of them gasped almost at the same time. The monstrosity standing in front of them was huge, vaguely human shaped, but with a nasty looking rocket luncher replacing one arm and wing like protrusions coming from its back. Vile's head could be seen from on top of it. "A little 'gift' from Repliforce," he said casually. "Far more advanced than the Ride Armors the Hunters use. Not only is it portable, but controlling it is essentially the same as controlling your own body. No clumsy controls on this baby. Here let me show you."

Vile's attack was far too fast for the others to react. His large fist caught Protoman right in the chest and slammed him into the wall hard enough to crack it. Vile then trained his rocket launcher to the corner where the wall met the ceiling and fired. Massive amounts of debris resulted in the explosion, effectively burying Protoman under tons of rock and steel. "Hade!!!!" Mega Man cried as he ran to the wreckage. 

"Look out, you idiot!" Bass cried at almost the same time. He flew to Mega Man top speed and socked him in the jaw, hard. This act knocked Mega Man away from Vile's charge, but put Bass right in it's path. Vile buried Bass in a similar manner than he did to Protoman. He slowly turned to Mega Man. "Well, now, little man. Looks like it's just you and me, now."

Mega Man stood his ground. He was nothing if not courageous, after all. "Looks like," he replied with a small nod.

Vile charged again, but Mega Man was ready. He dove out of the way, did a handspring, and spun in midair to face his opponent. He shot off a Mega Beam shot, which hit Vile dead on. Vile was lost in the explosion. Mega Man was not fool enough to believe that he had finished his opponent off yet, and was charging up another shot, but Vile's next charge was too fast. Mega Man found himself buried in the wall, with Vile's oversized fist pushing into him with more and more pressure. Vile's red eyes could be seen glowing behind his visor. "Game over," he hissed.

************

Sigma was back in full gloat mode. "I suppose you've been wondering where your blue friend is," he said with his infuriating smirk.

Zero folded his arms and glared at his enemy behind the energy screen. "I suppose you'd be right."

Sigma grinned even wider as he hit a button on a remote control. A wall behind him shifted as a chair came into view. It was attached to various pieces of computer equipment and strapped to it was X. He was now wearing his regular blue armor, minus the helmet, and several nodes were attached to his forehead. He had the look of one who had just waken up.

Iris' eyes widened when she recognized the setup. "A data extractor...?"

Zero swore.

Sigma grinned wider. "Right. I see you recognize X's predicament. I must admit to being almost as curious about his past as he is. Now I have my chance to finally learn it, before I destroy him!"

Zero swore again.

Sigma turned to Doppler. "Do it!"

Doppler nodded and hit some keys on the keyboard. Data began scrolling his screen faster than the human eye can follow. Sigma seemed to be able to follow it though, because he said after a moment of it, "Further, Doppler, further!"

"I'm trying!" Doppler tried as his typing got more and more frantic. Zero cast a concerned look in X's direction. He had his eyes shut tight and his teeth gritted. Zero could tell that sweat would be rolling down his face if he had the glands for it._ He's fighting them!_ he realized. Finally X gave a scream of pain that caused both Sigma and Doppler to back off. The computer screens and other equipment hooked up to the data extractor began to blow up in their faces. X slumped forward, unconscious.

"Doppler! What's happening?" Sigma cried in despiration.

"I-I don't know! This machine was in perfect order!" Doppler responded, just as despirate.

"You idiots," came a voice from the cages behind them. Doppler and Sigma turned and faced Zero. He may have been disarmed and caged, but at the moment he looked more dangerous than he ever had. "Did it ever occur to you," he continued, "that if X couldn't access his memory, then maybe there'd be a failsafe to go with it? You've just force fed all that data to him!"

*************

X found himself in a strange room. Or maybe not so strange. It seemed to match his vision of Dr. Light's lab before it became ruins. Voices behind him caught his attention. He turned. There behind him were Dr. Light and Dr. Wily. Slightly younger versions than the ones he'd been recently acquainted with, but still definitely them. On a table in front of them was a young boy, with midnight black hair. _Rock!_ X realized with a start. 

"Is he charged yet?" Dr. Light asked.

"Ninety five percent," Wily responded. "Not full power, but more than enough for it to wake up. What's wrong with this stupid machine!?"

"Albert..." Dr. Light admonished.

Rock stirred. His eyes slid open, and he looked at his surroundings uncertainly.

Dr. Light smiled kindly. "Rock, do you know who we are?"

Rock studied them for a moment, and said hollowly, "Dr. Thomas Xaviar Light and Dr. Albert W. Wily. You are my creators."

"That's right," Dr. Light commented. "Command line: Light 3, activate personality protocols."

Rock blinked, then smiled. "Well, then, Doc, what can I do fer ya?"

The people in front of him faded from view, leaving X alone in the room. "X, do you know what that was?" came a voice from behind.

X slowly turned. It was Dr. Light-at least it was the flickering blue hologram of Dr. Light he'd been accustomed to seeing from his Armor Enhancement Pods.

"I...think so," he replied uncertainly. "Rock's creation, right?"

Dr. Light nodded. "Only partly true. That WAS Rock's creation you just witnessed, but it was also your own. Come, X. We have a lot to see before this trip is over."


	16. Memories Regained...

Chapter 15

Memories Regained and an Enemy Defeated

  
  


Mega Man was again slammed mercilessly against a wall. It was all he could do to stay standing. His right eye refused to open, circulatory fluid leaked from a scalp wound into his left eye, stinging like nothing else, his whole body was a mass of cuts, scrapes, and black, oily, fluids, and his helmet was now several useless pieces scattered around the room. Vile laughed as he launched another barrage of missiles at Rock. 

The little blue robot did a set of backflips and handsprings that belied the exhausted state his body was in, dodging all the projectiles. Vile used the smoke cover to attack again, catching Mega Man with a massive uppercut that knocked the Blue Bomber head first into the ceiling. He fell again as a limp doll. He no longer had the energy to stand up.

Mega Man could hear the thuds of Vile's feet as it came closer. The evil Reploid used the huge hand of his mech to scoop his prey up as easily as he might have a doll. "Bed time, Rocky," Vile said tauntingly. "Time to tuck you in and say good night." Vile pointed his rocket launcher right at Rock's head. He didn't even flinch. "Impressive," Vile said with a touch of surprise. "Not flinching away from death is a sign of a true warrior indeed. But it ain't gonna make a difference!" Mega Man stared down the barrel of the gun, determined not to back down, when the explosion sounded-from BEHIND Vile.

**************

"Rock, get out of there, now!" Dr. Light pleaded.

"Not 'till I get this thing fixed!" came the reply from the next room. One of Dr. Light's experiments had gone awry, forcing him and Dr. Wily to evacuate. Rock was certain he could get the electrical surge under control and had his arms elbow deep in the wiring. Being a mere robot, Rock couldn't feel any pain as the energy coursed through and around him, causing his hair to stand on end.

"Now what are we going to do!?" Dr. Wily asked, despairingly.

"Roll," Dr. Light responded. "She's the only one who can get in there without sustaining permanent damage."

The blonde robot-built a few weeks after Rock for the purpose of housekeeping-nodded briskly before charging into the electrical storm that was the lab. "C'mon Rock!" she called grabbing hold of his shoulder. As she did so, the energy coursed through her body as well.

"No!" Rock replied stubbornly. He was programmed to fix any problems with the machines around the house and lab, and it seemed those protocols were even stronger than that of obeying one's creator. "I have to get this fixed!"

"Sorry, Rock," Roll muttered as she opened a panel in her brother's back. She reached in and fiddled with a few of the systems inside, causing Rock to slump over almost immediately. She propped him over her shoulder and ran toward the door, but she didn't make it before the explosion.

Smoke filtered out into the hall where Dr. Light and Dr. Wily were waiting. Coughing and gasping for air, the two men retreated further into the hallway. Dr. Light hit a button on the wall, and the air filtering system kicked in. When the smoke cleared, Roll could be seen carrying her brother over her shoulder. She dropped him a moment before she fell over herself.

The scene then faded before X's eyes.

"That was what began the transformation in the two of you from mere robot to Bioroid," Dr. Light's hologram explained. "Protoman's change came from the accident that caused me to lose him for that year."

X shook his head. "If you know what it takes to make a Bioroid, why didn't you just make more like them?"

Dr. Light shook his own head. "You can't simply _build_ a Bioroid. It just happens on accident. The fact that three of my creations should become living machines-the odds against even one more being created are astronomic. That's part of the reason I began researching how to make a robot that has it's own emotions and thought process. Come on, X. This is still only the beginning."

***************

"Doppler, what is X's status?"

The tall Reploid scientist turned to Sigma. "H-he's gone into Stasis Lock! It seems Zero was right. X's conscious mind seems to be extracting the data from his subconscious. In effect, he's regaining his memories."

Sigma nodded, smiling inwardly to himself. Almost everything was going according to plan-Zero was seething, and it was when he was in an extreme state of anger that he was at his closest to turning over to the Mavericks. Sigma turned to the caged Iris. "Doppler," he demanded. "Turn off the female's cage."

"Yes, sir," Doppler replied as he tapped some keys on another keyboard. The energy bars around Iris' cage instantly disintegrated. Sigma grinned. 

"Well, what are you waiting for? Attack me."

Iris glared at Sigma for a moment, all her systems screaming that it was a trap. Still, he had her against a wall, and if she was going do die again, she might as well do so fighting. With a primal cry, she leapt at the Maverick leader hand pulled back, palm flat, in preparation for a technique that would snap Sigma's neck. Sigma dodged easily.

Zero watched in horror as Iris tried several other techniques to get Sigma, all of which met with similar results. Sigma finally retaliated with an uppercut that sent her flying across the room. "IRIS!!!" Zero yelled despairingly.

Sigma smirked and held Iris's face in his hand, forcing her to look at him. "She's a good fighter, I must admit. She's pretty, too. Almost a shame that I'll have to deface her..."

Zero had nearly reached that most deadly point in his anger that Sigma was aiming for. "Sigma, you hurt one hair on her head, and I'll _personally_ rip your stinkin' heart out!"

Sigma's grin grew just a touch wider.

*************

Wily studied his group of robots with an evil grin. Cut Man, Guts Man, Elec Man, Bomb Man, Ice Man, Fire Man, Rock, and Roll all reprogrammed to serve his purposes. Okay, so maybe he didn't originally plan on getting Rock and Roll, but hey, it was their own fault for barging in on him. What he didn't see was Rock counting down on his fingers to roll. _Five...four...three...two...one!_

Rock tackled Wily. As he pinned the old man's hands to the ground he yelled to his sister, "Roll! Get Dr. Light!"

"What's going on here!" Wily cried. "I reprogrammed you! I know I did!!!"

Rock grinned. "We resisted."

Wily's jaw dropped. "Impossible! You're _robots_! Walking, talking computers! You don't have the free will to resist a reprogramming!"

"Seems we do, so what are you gonna do about it?"

Wily stared hard into Rock's blue eyes. Then he grinned smugly. "Guts Man...?"

Rock felt a large hand close around the back of his neck for just a second before he found himself flying across the room. He hit a table with a bunch of supplies on it hard enough to break the table in half. His head hurt-pain? Since when could he feel pain?-but he was determined to stop Wily. He picked a wrench up from the mess he created and leaped at Guts Man. Guts Man met his leap with a simple punch to the face that sent Rock flying against the wall again. He didn't get up this time.

Wily burst into maniacal laughter. "I'd love to stick around, but I have a world to take over! Guts Man, exit!" Guts man punched a hole in the side of the wall, and the last thing Rock heard before losing consciousness was Wily's laugh echoing through the several square acres of Dr. Light's property.

The scene faded before X's stunned eyes, but before he could speak to his creator another one faded in.

"You're sure you want to do this?" Dr. Light asked Rock with concern.

Rock nodded. "Of course! I couldn't stop the nutcase from wrecking the lab and escaping, but I'm sure as heck gonna stop him from doing something even worse!"

Dr. Light nodded himself. "Of course. You do realize that this change I'm about to make in you is very dangerous, what with the changes your systems seem to be going though. There's no way I can guarantee that they won't reject the new equipment."

Rock nodded again, a grim look on his face. "I understand, but I don't see any other choice."

The scene faded again, only to phase in again. Rock was now standing tall (well, as tall as his four foot frame would let him, anyway) in a new set of blue armor complete with a helmet.

"Y'know," Roll said thoughtfully. "You need a new name."

Rock raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

Roll smiled. "You know, like in the comics. How 'bout 'Rock Man?'"

Rock made a face and gave his sister a thumbs down. "It was only a suggestion," she huffed.

Dr. Light scratched his chin in thought. "'Megabyte Man?'"

"Close, doc, but no cigar."

Roll's face split in a grin. "How 'bout 'Mega Man?'"

Rock grinned, too. "'Mega Man,' I like it..."

And the scene faded before X's eyes.

****************

"Viiiiiiiiiiile!!!!!!"

Vile had to take a step back. Hovering above him was Bass. But there was something about him-he seemed to be ignited in deep violet flames, his eyes glowing a purple that was only a notch in the spectrum away from being white. Those eyes showed such a cold fury that Vile had to take another step backwards.

Before Vile realized it, Bass was right in front of him. "I'll take that," he said with a cold grin, just before ripping the mech's arm off that held Mega Man. Mega Man managed to break out of it's now weak grip before crashing to the ground. He didn't have the strength to get up again.

Vile and Bass, however, were completely ignoring him, now. Vile kept getting Bass in his rocket launcher's sights, but every time he did, Bass seemed to "vanish" to another spot. Finally, he disappeared from Vile's view. Vile swore. "Bass, stop skipping around like a coward and FIGHT!!!"

Vile felt a tapping on his shoulder. He looked behind himself to find Bass's cold grin filling his view. "If you insist," the black robot said before punching Vile in the face.

Vile's visor shattered and as he flew backward into the far wall. He retaliated immediately by firing off all the missiles in his mech's remaining arm. All of them hit dead on. Vile allowed himself a small grin as Bass and the rest of the room disappeared in a mass of explosions and smoke. Then he heard the distinct sound of metallic footsteps. Bass emerged from the smoke, still alight with purple flames, eyes still glowing that eerie shade, totally unharmed.

Vile had time for a startled "urk" before Bass as on him again. This time he grabbed the mech by its huge shoulders and threw it into the air. He followed up his attack with a blast of purple energy that caused the entire mech to explode. Vile flew from the new smoke and haze and hit Bass in the head with a perfect flying kick. He followed up with a blast from his shoulder cannon.

The shot hit Bass in the chest, and the debilitating energy surrounded him. Vile's eyes widened slightly in surprise as Bass remained standing. Then he grinned. "Seems my weapon doesn't fully affect you anymore," he said to Bass. "Still, it's enough for me to finish you off!"

Before Vile could carry out his threat, he was blindsided by a large bolt of hot plasma that hit him in the side of the head. The blast totally disintegrated Vile's helmet, revealing his true face for all the world to see. It would not have been all that spectacular, had his eyes not been glowing red much as Bass's were going purple. He did have a scar on his cheek and another over one eye from his many battles, and he had shoulder length black hair. Pretty standard humanoid, in point of fact.

Vile spun to face whatever had attacked him, and found himself looking at Mega Man. He was lying on his stomach and still had his arm formed into a cannon, with smoke wafting from the tip of it. Rock gave Vile a sardonic grin. "You're dead, Vile."

Vile spun again at the scream of primal rage behind him. Bass had fully regained use of his body, and he formed both hands into cannons and aimed them at Vile. "'Night, Vile," he said, imitating Vile's earlier words. "Time to tuck you in, and say goodnight!" With that, Bass let loose with a huge beam of purple energy that hit Vile full in the chest and sent him flying to the opposite wall. When he hit the wall he exploded in a spectacular display of pyrotechnics. Small bits of metal, plastic and silicone rained on the battlefield for a moment as the fiery energy surrounding Bass slowly subsided.

Bass had a look of shock on his face. _Woah, _he thought. _I had no idea that alien energy could _do_ that!_ He cried out as the systems in his chest seemed to bunch up in a knot. _Come's with a price, though._ Bass grimly took one of his two remaining E-Tanks from within his armor and drained it. The cooling energy made him instantly feel better.

Moments later, Mega Man was similarly treated, and was running at full operating capacity, though much of his exterior wounds still showed and he was still missing his helmet. Still, none of the wounds were bleeding and he had full use of both eyes again. No sooner had Mega Man drained Bass's last E-Tank then some of the debris along the wall shifted. The rocks fell away to reveal the white and red Protoshield, which shifted to show Protoman, scratched and dented but otherwise okay. "Woah, Rock," he gasped in shock at the sight of his brother. "You look awful!"

Mega Man laughed. "Well, Proto, you're no prize yourself!"

Bass grinned slightly at the exchange, but got back to business. Walking over to a gate on the opposite side of the one they came in from. "Come on, Mega Man. The main lab is just a stone's throw away now."

Mega Man nodded. "Sure, sure. But Bass..." Mega Man extended a hand to the black robot. "Call me Rock," he said with a smile.

Bass looked at the hand in surprise for a second and smiled himself. "Deal," he said as he grasped it firmly.

*****************

X's eyes widened as the memories flashed back before him faster and faster. One second he saw himself as Rock tackled by a red and white robotic dog, as the voices of Roll and Dr. Light cheered, "Happy Birthday!" The next second, he saw Mega Man in a mineshaft facing off with a red and white robot with a yellow scarf and a visor. "You're good, Mega Man. I will admit that. Now I guess I'll let you continue on your way."

"Wait!" Mega Man cried. "Who are you?"

The red robot grinned. "Call me Break Man."

The scene shifted again, to Mega Man awakening in the lab of Dr. Light after getting crushed by tons of rock. Dr. Light was fussing about him, wondering who would have brought Mega Man to the lab. His musings were interrupted by a whistling. "It must have been Protoman!" Dr. Light breathed.

X smiled as he witnessed the battle between Mega Man and Dr. Cossack getting cut short by Protoman, as he teleported down with Cossack's young daughter, Kalinka. The influx of memories was overwhelming X, but he was exhilarated at the same time. He was _remembering!_


	17. So much for the Preliminaries...

Chapter 16

So Much for the Preliminaries...

  
  


Mega Man, Protoman, and Bass had little resistance after their face off with Vile. Soon they had arrived at the vertical passageway. "What the...?" Mega Man had to ask when as he craned his neck to see up the tunnel.

Bass grinned. "Oh, that's something Siggy likes to do just before his lair. As if a simple vertical path could keep somebody out that could _get _this far in the first place. Still..." Bass scratched his chin, as if in deep thought. "The climb wouldn't be all that fun. Whaddya say we take the express?" He held both of his hands slightly outward, obviously inviting them to grab on and allow him to jet them to the top. Both Mega Man and Protoman hesitated. "Aw, c'mon," Bass added in a half teasing-but only half-voice. "Trust me."

A small smile played on Mega Man's lips. It was certainly a difficult task, even with the fact that Bass had recently rescued his butt and everything else. Still, Bass seemed to be changing for the better, and Rock was never one to deny anybody a second chance. He grasped Bass' right hand with both of his. Protoman blinked at his brother, but followed suit and grabbed Bass's left. 

*************

"Top floor; Home Repair, Hygiene, and Women's Underwear!" Bass announced cheerfully as he landed at the top of the shaft and the two brothers let go.

"Heh, funny," Rock replied sarcastically.

Protoman was silent, marveling at how these two bitter enemies could be engaged in such friendly banter, like they had been friends all their life. Behind the visor, behind the facade that was Protoman, Hadrian Blues suddenly realized that his world was going to be different forever because of this little adventure, and he wasn't entirely sure if it was for the better.

Protoman's musings were interrupted by a rasping, almost purring, voice that demanded, "Stop where you are!"

Bass grinned. "Well if it ain't Beastie Boy and Stripy Butt!"

And standing before the three robots, with their claws unsheathed and snarls on their faces, were Neon Tiger and Slash Beast. "Go back the way you came now, and maybe we won't hurt you," Tiger snarled.

Mega Man laughed. "Go back? That would kinda defeat the whole purpose of coming here, wouldn't it?"

Bass grinned. "I wouldn't try it, guys. I beat you up pretty bad before, and this time I'll be playing for real."

Slash Beast grinned, showing off all his pointed teeth. "As are we," he purred.

Bass simply shrugged and made a great show of cracking his knuckles. "Well, as the man says, 'let's get ready to rumble.'"

**************

Iris found herself swatted to the floor once again. Make no mistake, she wasn't just lying down and taking the beating that Sigma was handing her. Every time she was knocked down, she'd get back up and would deliver a devastating attack of her own. But however good she was, she found that Sigma was infinitely better. He'd block her most advanced techniques as if they were amateur material and would retaliate in a way that was impossible for her to defend.

Sigma grinned inwardly. Zero was fuming now, and that was what he wanted. Long ago, Sigma discovered that whenever Zero's temper rose to a certain point, he'd become a raging demon that would attack whatever was in range. Sigma had since theorized that if he could take that anger up to another level, have it surpass a limit it hadn't reached yet, then Zero would be his. The trouble was finding a way to bring the anger up to that point. Nothing Sigma could do to Zero himself could rise the anger up to that level. However, Zero seemed fiercely loyal to his friends, and in them was Sigma's catalyst. Sigma delivered a nasty palm thrust to Iris's face, a blow that would have shattered a human's nose, just as he finished that thought. Zero let out with a scream. No threats. No flowing profanity. Just the primal, wordless cry of a wild animal. _Almost there..._

Sigma's beating, as well as Zero's rising temper, were cut short by an explosion. Everyone turned to see a large fireball that seemed to resemble Neon Tiger fly across the room, where it exploded upon contact with the far wall. From the hole that Neon left behind, strolled in Bass. Behind him were Mega Man and Protoman. "Hi, Honey, I'm home!" Bass said with his trademark smirk. "And I brought some friends from work!"

And then all was chaos.

Bass shot a searing beam of violet energy at Sigma, forcing him to stop beating on Iris and defend himself. Iris, now free of her tormentor, quickly scanned the room for something that might help. She saw Dr. Doppler running toward the controls to his Strobe Trap. Apparently he realized the odds had shifted a little. _Oh, no you don't!_ she thought grimly before charging after him.

Iris wasn't the only one who caught Doppler's movement. Protoman had too, and though he didn't know what the controls were for, he did know that they couldn't have been for anything good. So, he switched from his Mega Buster to his Flash Bomb, and fired one of the metal spheres at the computer. The computer exploded at almost the exact same time that Iris hit Doppler in the side with a flying kick.

Mega Man took command, naturally. "Proto, you help Bass, I'll free the others."

Protoman nodded and fired off three Flash Bombs at Sigma, causing him to disappear in the resulting explosions. Mega Man ran to the cage holding Zero, and began typing on the control board on its front. "You okay?" he asked of the red Reploid.

Zero shook his head. "I am now." Zero took a look at Rock and decided a double take was in order. "Woah, Rock. You look awful!"

Mega Man grinned, wryly. "So I've heard."

***************

Dr. Doppler may have been built with some self defensive measures, but he couldn't fight a battle the likes of which Iris engaged him with. She attacked him with unbeleivable speed, and always hit a spot that would do most damage. He had no chance. Finally, Iris punched him hard in the chest-hard enough to actually pierce his armor and the circuitry within. Then she yanked her hand to the side, before ripping it out of his chest. Doppler fell and did not get up again. Iris shook the circulatory fluids off her hand as she gazed around to see what she could do to help the others.

****************

"Aw, crap!"

Zero gazed down at Mega Man, somewhat impatient to get out of his prison. "What is it?"

Mega Man looked up at Zero. "This thing's password protected! It could take forever to figure the code out." Mega Man looked down at the console in front of him for a second, then a wicked grin crossed his face, as his armor changed red and orange. "'Course, when in doubt, break something!" 

Mega Man ignited his Fire Sword and drove it into the offending console before him, causing it to spray electrical sparks in every direction. It also turned the bars off on Zero's cage. "All right!" Zero yelled as he leapt out of his prison.

"Where's X?" Mega Man asked.

"Try that direction," Zero replied, pointing.

Rock turned in the direction Zero was indicating and saw X unconscious and strapped into the machinery. The design was a bit more advanced than the models he usually saw, but Mega Man had a pretty good idea of what it was. "A data extractor?" he asked.

Zero's reply was short and to the point. "Yup."

"Crap."

************

"EEEAAAAARGGG!!" Protoman cried as he flew away from Sigma. The attack had been so fast that the red robot would not have been able to describe what had happened, but it was a pretty nasty attack. He landed on a worktable and shattered it, scattering the various pieces of machinery over the ground. Proto shook his head to clear the stars from his vision and saw a familiar goldish cylinder right in front of his eyes. He reached out and picked it up, flicking a switch on the upper lip of the handle. A neon green blade shot out of it, sending an eerie green reflection on his visor. "Cool," Protoman couldn't help but say before turning the Beam Saber off to take stock of the situation. Bass was fighting Sigma, keeping him destracted long enough for Iris to run up from behind and deliver a nasty flying knee to the small of Siggy's back-an attack that Protoman couldn't help but wince at-Zero was charging into the fray, and Rock was running the other direction, toward a goal that Protoman couldn't see yet.

"Hey, Zero!" Protoman called, catching the red Reploid's attention. "Catch!" Proto hurled the Saber across the room and Zero caught it easily.

"Thank's, Proto!" Zero called before igniting his blade and facing Sigma. Protoman grinned as he readied his arm cannon. The tide of this fight was definitely going in their favor.

**************

"X!" Mega Man called as he reached the taller blue Reploid. "Can you hear me?" X didn't respond. "Crud," Rock muttered under his breath as he unhooked his friend from the apparatus. "We need to get you to a safer place 'till you wake up." Mega Man looked around for a second and saw that a doorway next to the machine was clear. This led to the only hall to Sigma's living quarters, but Mega Man didn't know this. "Okay, hear goes nothing..." he muttered as he tossed X over his shoulder like an oversized bag of potatoes and began his mad dash to the door. It opened easily and he was in the clear. "Yes!" Mega Man shouted, just before the ceiling began to come down on him. "Crap!" he amended.

**************

"This grows tiring," Sigma sighed. "It think it's time we end this little fiasco right now, don't you?" With that, Sigma raised his right hand palm up over his head as a purple sphere of energy formed above it.

Bass stopped and his eyes widened, as he recognized energy. _No...it can't be..._

Sigma seemed to be reading Bass's mind as he grinned a grin that seemed to say _Oh, but it is_ before whipping his arm around and sending the energy forth in four different directions. One hit the wall just above the door where Mega Man and X dissapeared through, causing a cave-in. The other three rammed into Protoman, Iris, and Bass-slamming them into the wall and pinning them there. Sigma turned to Zero, who still had his Saber drawn and was preparing for the fight of his life. "It's you I want," the tall green Reploid said.

Zero was actually quite rattled by the display of power that Sigma just showed. "How...?" he started to ask.

Sigma chuckled. "Why not ask Bass? I'm sure he recognizes the energy I used. Don't you, Bass?"

Bass managed to get his senses back and glared at Sigma. "Evil Energy. But that's impossible."

"Is it?" Sigma asked-he was clearly enjoying himself. "I got it from our dear departed friend Sword Man. Ripped it right out of his chest before Tengu Man rescued him."

Bass suddenly remembered the gaping hole in Sword Man's chest. He scowled and called Sigma something that would be better if left unrepeated.

Sigma's grin twitched. "Very nice, Bass. I can see where Zero got his charming repertoire."

"There's no way you could have done that! I've had this energy a lot longer than you and even I don't have that level of control."

Sigma grinned as if talking to a lovable but stupid child. "My dear Bass. It was child's play for me to learn how to control this energy. The part of me that is the Maverick Virus was _created_ from it!"

The others in the room were stunned into silence. "We're all gonna die..." Protoman muttered.


	18. We interrupt this Broadcast...

Chapter 17

...We interrupt this broadcast...

  
  


Mega Man sighed as the gate closed behind him. _No, not Mega Man. Not anymore. Now I'm Mega Man _X. The robot sighed. He was not a Bioroid any longer. Dr. Light didn't even have a name for the species he was yet. He'd gained a foot or so of height, and a new set of armor-still a two-tone color scheme of blue. Dr. Light did this to him in order to save his life. Mega Man could understand that-how often had the Doc called him his son?-still, he couldn't help but think that maybe, just maybe, he would have been left better off dead.

_What am I talkin' about?_ the robot thought in disgust. _Dr. Light's fatherly love's only part of the grand scheme of things. Dr. Wily's got one of these "advanced robots" of his own, and I'm probably the only one who can fight the thing off._

Still, he hesitated. The capsule loomed before him, waiting for him to enter. Rock knew what stepping into that thing would do to his life. Once he stepped into it, he'd be leaving his home, family, and life behind. _All for the greater good, right?_ Mega Man snorted in disgust, then stopped in surprise. He'd never been so cynical. "Sometimes emotions can be such a royal pain in the behind," he muttered aloud.

"Tell me about it," came a familiar voice from behind.

The blue robot turned to find Hadrian-not Protoman, Hadrian-standing in a corner of the room, arms crossed in typical fashion. He was not wearing his typical cocky grin. Rather, his expression was quite unreadable.

"What are you doing here, bro?" the blue robot asked of his leather clad counterpart.

Hadrian tried to summon up one of his trademark grins, but fell far short. "You didn't think you could leave me that easy, did you? Not even a good bye?"

The two robots stood there for a moment, neither one moving. Finally Mega Man gave a sob and fell to his knees, looking more vulnerable than he ever had in his life. Hadrian ran up to him and threw his arms around his brother. "Hey, now. C'mon, Lil' Rocky Horror. Everything's gonna turn out all right. You'll see." Hadrian gave a gentle push on his brother's shoulders in order to look him straight in the face. "Now, you listen to me. You are stronger than anybody I've ever met-human, Robot, or Bioroid. You can overcome anything. Now, you have to overcome this."

"Yeah, but it's not easy..."

"Easy? Who said it was gonna be easy? You think it's easy for the Doc? Roll? Me...?" Hadrian fell silent, as Mega Man studied his face. Then Mega Man's face hardened.

Mega Man wiped his nose and got to his feet. His back was straight and his chest was out as he stepped into the capsule. "See you in thirty years?" he asked as the tubular casing began to close around him.

Hadrian almost grinned again. "You know it." 

The capsule closed and the scene began to fade from the present-day Mega Man X. Before it did completely, he thought he heard a whispered "Good bye, Rock."

Then there was nothing.

X fell to his knees. The loss and despair hit him like a tidal wave. He had a family once, a family that loved him. One that he loved just as much. And now they were gone. It wasn't FAIR! All his life he fought to keep those he didn't know safe, and look where it brought him. Why couldn't life be fair?

X felt a gentle hand on his shoulder and looked up to see the flickering blue face of Dr. Light. "Why...?" he asked though clenched teeth.

Dr. Light seemed to know exactly what was being asked, but didn't seem to want to talk about it. "Why what?"

X leapt to his feet, rage in his voice. "Why did you have to change me into this?! What happened to Mega Man that made him so unrepairable that you had to turn him into an experimental robot to save him? WHAT!?!?"

Dr. Light lowered his gaze. "I can't say..."

A rage unlike any he'd ever felt before coursed through X. He grabbed Dr. Light by the lapels of his lab coat and jerked him off his feet so their faces were only inches apart. "Why? I've been looking for answers since the day I came out of that stupid capsule and now that you're here, I'm gonna GET them!"

With a surprising grip, Dr. Light removed X's hands from his lab coat and met his "son's" fierce gaze with one of his own. "If I could tell you, I would, but the fact is I can't."

X plopped down like a child that had just lost his favorite toy down the rain gutter. "Why...?"

"Because that event is being rewritten."

X, startled by that answer, looked up at his creator. "Come again...?"

Dr. Light sighed. "Originally, your 'death' came about from a final battle with Bass. But, with the arrival of your past self and the rest of us, we are changing history. So far, the only event that's fluctuating is that final battle of yours, but the longer they are here, the more history will change."

X thought on that. "But, Doc Cain said that you guys are surrounded by some sort of temporal field that keeps history safe."

Light sighed. "In a way, he's right. That field is keeping history from changing in as blatantly obvious a way as us being absent for forty years, but time travel has repercussions that are far more subtle than even the most well thought out science fiction novel can describe."

X's curiosity was peaked. "Such as...?"

Dr. Light shook his head in mild frustration. "Okay, you've seen time travel movies where some well meaning time traveler goes back in time and does a very minor thing-like, say, help someone remember a briefcase that he would have otherwise forgotten, then return to the present and find the world he knew had changed drastically for the worst, right?" X nodded. "But it's more complicated than that. A time traveler's very presence at a particular event could change it in unpredictable ways."

"Yeah, doc, but I've never heard of somebody going to the future, and the past changing because of that."

Dr. Light nodded. "True. But it's as I said. Time travel can change history in very subtle ways. What if those from the past went back in time with the knowledge of things to come and then made a slightly different decision _because_ of that knowledge?"

X had to concede that he'd never thought of that. "So, even though the event has changed, the end result is still the same. So far, at least."

Dr. Light nodded. "Yes."

X frowned. "Y'know, that sounds an awful lot like 'destiny.'"

"No, not destiny," Dr. Light said firmly. "We are still bound by our own decisions. But part of that decision making process is not having an exact knowledge of the consequences." Dr. Light smiled kindly. "Don't worry, X. You'll get the rest of the answers you're looking for when and if our resident time travelers get sent home. Now, though, it's time for you to wake up."

"But..." X started before he found himself ripped away by some kind of cyclone. He felt himself getting tossed around like a rag doll for who knew how long, then all went black


	19. We Now Return You to Your Regularly Sche...

Chapter 18

We now Return You to Your Regularly Scheduled Program.

  
  


"C'mon, you stupid hunk of rock, MOVE!"

Mega Man was at the top of the mound of debris, trying to dig his way out of the hall and back into Sigma's lab, but so far even his impressive robotic strength was failing him. It was amazing that he was able to get out from under the cave in before it all came down on top of him, truth be told, but now he was cut off from the action. And he hated being cut off from the action.

Mega Man strained against a particularly large boulder trying to get it to move. "MOVE, DANGIT!" he shouted in frustration and pulled even harder. He did finally manage to get the rock loose, but all that did was drop even more rocks and debris on top of him, cause him to lose balance, and fall backwards to land on his currently unprotected head.

The blue Bioroid got to his knees and rubbed the back of his head in an attempt to lighten the pain. "That hurt! Jeeze!" he shouted to no one in particular.

Mega Man got up and glared at the impertinent pile of rubble before him before letting his frustration loose with his Mega Buster. He fired shot after shot for a good minute before finally dropping to his knees. The wall showed some smoking scorch marks but that was it. 

"Feeling better?" a voice asked from behind.

"Yeah, a little..." Mega Man replied before it dawned on him that he was supposed to be the only one awake in the room. He turned to see X propped up on his elbows giving him a look he couldn't quite read. "X! You're awake! How do you feel?" Rock asked as he ran over to his future self in order to help him stand.

"Like someone tried to break OUT of my head with a sledgehammer," X replied ruefully as he rubbed his sore forehead. Then he saw Mega Man clearly for the first time and did a double take. "Woah, Rock, what happened to you?" he had to ask.

Mega Man sighed. "It's kinda a long story, but it all boils down to Vile beat me up. So, are you gonna help me find a way out or what?"

X nodded and was about to reply when a metallic growl resonated from behind. The two blue robots slowly turned and found a robotic dog, somewhat similarly built to Treble, slowly stalking them. "Vanguarder!!" X gasped.

************

"So, Zero. I make you this offer one last time..." Sigma said conversationally.

"Right," Zero replied sarcastically. "Lemmie guess. 'Join the Mavericks, Zero. It's where you belong. Etcetera, etcetera."

Sigma frowned. "Well, yes. Look around you, Zero. I have all who could pose as a danger to me trapped. I could destroy any one of them with but a thought. This is the power I offer you. The power to be the best!"

Sigma could see the wheels turning in Zero's head, figuratively speaking, and decided to go in for the coup de grace. "The power..." he added in a whisper. "To rule!"

Zero shut off his Beam Saber.

Iris looked about ready to cry. "Zero, no..." she whispered to herself.

"Don't worry, Iris," Protoman whispered back to her. "He's bluffing. I'd bet my life on it." _Which I pretty much am, make no mistake._

Zero began pacing as if in deep thought. "Y'know, Sigma. I have given this offer of yours a lot of thought. And it is very tempting I must admit, what with my origins and all..." Sigma couldn't keep an evil grin from crossing his face. Zero continued as if he hadn't seen. "And I've decided...that you can get bent!"

The attack took Sigma by surprise. Still, it was not for nothing that he was the greatest Hunter of his time. He miraculously managed to dodge Zero's lunging slash with not much more than a simple cut on his shoulder. "That, my friend," the larger Reploid growled as he lit his own Beam Saber. "Was a big mistake."

Zero shifted to his fighting stance. "You're the one who made the mistake, pally. Now let's end this!"

Sigma nodded. "Very well. If it's a battle you want, then a battle you shall have. I will even fight without my newfound powers. One hand behind my back, as they say."

"Whatever you say," Zero replied with a smirk.

So began the battle of the century.

*****************

Vanguarder, Sigma's personal pet, slowly approached the Blue Bombers, a low growl rising from his throat. "Man, this really bites!" Rock said.

"No," X replied, pointing at the dog. "_He_ really bites. And hard, too."

"So, he wouldn't happen to be weak against heat based weapons, would he?" Mega Man asked, hoping his one Master Weapon could be of some help. Vanguarder spewed a cloud of flame from his mouth at the two heros, which was barely dodged. "I'll take that as a 'no,'" Mega Man muttered wryly.

Vanguarder lunged and its opponents leapt out of the way again. X tried to air-dash, but since he didn't have the proper equipment for it, all his dash thrusters did for him was send him face first to the floor. "X, you moron!" he admonished himself as he tried getting to his feet. Unfortunately, Vanguarder leapt on him pinning him. 

X could feel its metallic breath against his cheek as he squeezed his eyes closed. Then, he heard a pained "Yipe!" as the dog seemed to be violently tossed from his back. X opened his eyes to see Mega Man pointing his arm cannon at the beast with smoke wafting from the tip. "Back off, Fido!" he snapped.

Vanguarder roared and leapt at Mega Man, who stood his ground. "Rock, are you nuts!?" X asked. "MOVE!"

Still Mega Man stood. At the last second, he brought his fist up into the attacking dog's jaw. He felt a satisfying crunch as the dog flew backward and landed in a heap. "Well, I guess the old fashioned way still works," he said with a grin as he dusted off his hands. Vanguarder stumbled to its feet and shook its head, ready to attack again. "Maybe not," Rock noted with a smirk. He casually formed an arm cannon and shot the dog point-blank in the head. This time, it didn't get up. "So, whaddya say we find a way outta here?" he asked X.

"Why don't we?" X replied before his form was hidden by a blinding flash of light. When it died down, he was once again in his white "X4" armor.

Mega Man's eyes widened slightly. "One of these days you're gonna have to tell me how you _do_ that." He remarked with a grin.

X grinned himself. "You'll find out when you're older."

******************

The battle was amazing. There are simply no words to describe it. Sigma would attack, Zero would block, then counter. Neither one gaining any true advantage. Neither one giving any quarter, or asking for any. The floor was stained black from the fluids leaking from the various wounds from the two combatants. Still they fought on.

Still, Zero knew he would eventually lose. He was a lot smaller than Sigma, and was simply not built to take the same amount of damage his opponent could. He was beginning to wear out. Bass realized this and was barely able to bite back a growl of frustration. 

_He's going to lose, you know._

"Not you again! Go away!"

_Hey, wherever you go, I'll be there. I'm part of you after all._

"Shut up!"

_You know what you have to do._

Bass sighed. Yes, he knew what he had to do. Still, that didn't mean he had to like it. But if he didn't do something soon, his younger brother would die. "Life just sucks," he commented to himself before closing his eyes. He totally ignored the battle in front of him, as he turned his conciousness inward. He was now destroying the barriers. The mental blocks he erected long ago to hide the inner core of goodness inside. A core that Wily couldn't have known about, else he would have had Bass reprogrammed long ago. It was difficult: the walls were thick and solid. But the further he went, the easier it became.

"It's no use!" Iris cried in despair. "Sigma's wearing Zero down. He's going to lose."

Protoman was staring up at Bass, pinned several feet above himself and the female Reploid. "Don't be so sure, babe," he commented, seeing the look of concentration on the black Bioroid's face. "I think the calvary's about to arrive."

With a wordless cry, Bass answered Protoman in the affirmative. His arms and legs shot out, and a sphere of blue energy erupted from his body, expanding every microsecond. As the energy passed over Protoman and Iris, their bonds disappeared, sending the two of them crashing to the floor. When the energy reached the cave-in where Mega Man and X were trapped, the rocks all exploded outward. The entire process took about two seconds, and when it was over and the light had died, nothing in the room seemed to have been touched, except for the cave-in area. X and Mega Man peeked their heads out of the opening with shocked looks on their faces. "What the sam-hill happened here?!" X asked.

Mega Man shook his head. "I'm not sure, but I'm thinkin' Bass had something to do with it. Look!" Rock pointed in Bass's direction.

Bass slowly lowered himself to the ground, his body alight with blue flame. Wordlessly, Bass pointed an arm cannon at the stunned Sigma and shot a blast that knocked his Beam Saber right out of his hand. With a second shot, the weapon was destroyed completely.

Sigma grinned. "Well, it seems that this will be an interesting fight after all!" With that, Sigma ignited his body with violet flames and streaked toward Bass. When the two met, they engaged in a lightning fast fight that none of the others could follow. X and Mega Man gathered with Protoman, Iris, and Zero and the best they could do was watch in amazement.

"Kinda like watching that Dragonball Z cartoon, ain't it?" Protoman asked.

"DBZ isn't a cartoon, Proto," Mega Man corrected absently. "It's an anime." At that point Bass got slammed through a wall next to the group. He came out unharmed and still flaming. With a growl he dove straight for Sigma again. "But you're pretty much right."

X saw the look on Mega Man's face. "What is it, Rock?"

Mega Man didn't look away from the battle. He didn't seem to have heard X, as his answer seemed to be spoken more to himself then to any of the others. "Weird that he's flaming blue. That was the color of the flames when Duo did that trick." The others took a closer look at the battle. Sure enough, Bass was glowing blue and Sigma was glowing violet.

After about a minute of the fight, Sigma and Bass separated. Both were sporting some new wounds, but none of them seemed to be too life threatening. However, Bass was breathing heavily and clutching his chest with one hand. Iris noticed first. "Hey, what's up with Bass?"

"Whaddya mean Iris?" Zero asked.

"Well, look at him. He hasn't taken nearly enough of a beating to be acting that way. I should know. I've worked at the Reploid Repair Bay at Repliforce before."

Protoman narrowed his eyes behind his visor. "Know what? I think you're right!"

Mega Man's eyes widened as he remembered the E-Tank Bass had to take after his fight with Vile, even though Vile had only managed to hit him once. "Oh, crap!" The others turned to look at him in surprise. "Bass's systems aren't built to use the alien energy to this scale. If they had been, he'd've been able to do so before now! It's probably eating up his insides right now!"

Sigma seemed to have realized this as well. He fired a blast of energy at Bass, who used his energy to create a shield around himself. The shot was deflected harmlessly, but still bas cried out in pain. "It's over Bass," Sigma said, victory clear in his voice. "I win. It's only a matter of time before you destroy yourself."

"Not...before...I destroy...you....scumbag!" Bass panted.

Meanwhile, a plan was forming in Protoman's head. The clearer the idea became the more he was sure it would work. "Hey, guys," he called out. "I have a plan." The group of Reploids and Bioroid turned to him to see what he had up his sleeve. "Sigma's totally focused on fighting Bass. He probably hasn't had to fight more than two opponents at once for a long time. I think we can use that to our advantage..."

Meanwhile, the battle was in full swing again. Sigma landed a nasty punch on Bass that sent the Bioroid skidding along the ground. Sigma was about to finish the fight with a large blast, when he was hit in the side by twin bolts of plasma. He turned in surprise to see Mega Man and X waving and making faces at him. "Hey, Sigma!" Mega Man called out. "I heard your mother was the Y2K bug!"

"Yeah," X agreed. "No wonder you couldn't win a war to save your life. What with a non-event like that in your lineage!"

"Why you insolent...!"

Sigma was cut off as Iris landed a flying kick to his side. The attack took him by so much surprise that he took the full brunt of the blow and it sent him flying to one side. Protoman was waiting for him and delivered a powerful uppercut that sent Sigma reeling backwards. The next thing Sigma knew, Zero's Beam Saber had blossomed from his shoulder. The large green Reploid screamed in pain as Zero tore the blade from his opponent's side.

Bass saw this as his chance to attack, and charged at Sigma. Without even realizing how he knew its location, Bass drove his hand in Sigma's chest and withdrew the core of Evil Energy. He crushed it to dust. With a scream of rage, pain, and defiance, Sigma exploded in an eruption that threw both Zero and Bass several feet in opposite directions. Bass landed on his back and didn't get up again. The blue flame was gone and he was having trouble breathing, but he was still alive. The others were a little worse for wear, but nothing too serious.

"Well," X remarked as he glanced over the battlefield. "I guess that's it."

"Not so fast," came a chillingly familiar voice over the PA system. Everyone turned to one of the few good computer monitors left to see a wire-frame model of Sigma's face leering at them. "I still have one more trick up my sleeve. Doppler created a new strain of the Maverick Virus for me. Once I release it, it will only be a matter of time before all Reploids on the earth become Maverick. Also, I've set this base to self destruct. Both events will happen in exactly fifteen minutes. Have a nice day." Sigma's laughter echoed over the speakers for a moment until they broke off.

Zero began swearing some of the most imaginative curses he could as he began typing furiously on the keyboard in front of him.

Mega Man had a confused look on his face. "What's up with that? Why would he even set a time limit for either?"

X was looking over Zero's shoulder in order to help him navigate when neccesary. "The Chess game, remember? Zero and I are good enough computer hackers that we can find and eliminate the virus, but it would take us about fifteen minutes to do so. And this base is so huge, that the nearest path to the surface would take the same amount of time to navigate at a full run."

Protoman got the message. "Siggy wants to see if these Pogs are willing to sacrifice themselves for a chance at the Checkmate!"


	20. The Final Battle

Chapter 19

The Final Battle

  
  


"So now what do we do?" Mega Man asked.

X's reply was unhesitant and firm. "You guys get to the surface. Zero and I will make sure the virus gets destroyed!"

Protoman shook his head. "There's no way we could just leave you guys here!"

X stayed firm. "Look, we knew the rules when we joined up with the Hunters. We both knew that there might be a battle we wouldn't get out of alive, and we've accepted that. But if you guys die, history as we know it will get screwed over, and nothing we've done so far will matter anyways. So MOVE!"

"No!" came a voice from behind the group. They all turned to see who it was. It was Dr. Doppler. He was breathing hard and had a hand on his chest, trying in vain to stop the circulatory fluids from leaking from his wound. "I will stop the virus. I know exactly how to do it. But the world needs you two still."

"How can we trust...?" Mega Man started to ask, but a hand clamped on his shoulder, stopping him. He turned to see that it was Protoman, who shook his head meaningfully.

"What about you?" X asked.

Doppler grinned ruefully before his body was wracked with coughs. "I'm dead anyway. Going a few minutes early isn't that big a deal. Now get out of here!"

"Never look a gift horse in the mouth, I always say," Zero said as he ran for the opening that Bass had created earlier.

Mega Man paused and slung Bass over his shoulder, which caused the black Bioroid to cry out in pain. "Sorry about that," Mega Man apologized. "No time to be gentle."

*************

The group of robots charged through the underground fortress at top speed, with X in the lead. They all knew that they had a very slim margin of error, so none of them said a word. Not that much could have been said anyways. They were using all their energy to run.

Only when they reached the final ladder that would take them up to the surface did they relax. Mega Man, with Bass draped over his shoulder was the last to start up. Before his foot even stepped onto the bottom rung, however, a roaring noise filled his ears. He turned to see a huge fireball ripping through the hallways. "Aw crap," he muttered to himself before calling up to Protoman. "Hey bro! CATCH!" He shifted his grip on Bass so that he was holding him by the ankles and threw the black robot up toward the manhole with all his might. He easily cleared the surface and Protoman easily-if not exactly gently-caught him. Mega Man followed him up with a single leap.

Mega Man hit the ground at a roll and began running toward the shelter of the nearby Central Park. "C'mon, guys. It's time to move!" he called over his shoulder. None of them quite made it. A huge pillar of fire erupted from the manhole, and several others around the city, forcibly throwing the robots forward. None of them were especially injured, however.

"Now is it over?" Protoman asked.

Zero shook his head. "Knowing Sigma...I doubt it."

At that moment a huge fist erupted from the ground causing the entire group to scatter. "Sometimes bein' right ain't all it's cracked up to be..." Zero muttered.

Sigma slowly emerged from the hole he created, causing it to widen as he did so. The small group of Hunters and heros made a mad dash for the cover of the park. When they were sufficiently hidden, they turned to gasp in amazement at the form that their enemy now took. He was huge, a couple of stories high at least, though his form was still somewhat humanlike. He had cannons mounted in his shoulders, his lower arms, and thighs. And there was no doubt he had other hidden weapons besides. Sigma's typical bald, scarred face was fastened to the neck of this new body.

The Maverick leader laughed insanely. "Kaiser Sigma is back, and you cannot hide from me forever!" In an attempt to drive his opponents out or even destroy them, he launched a barrage of missiles into the park, tearing up a good portion of it. "You Hunters have ruined my plans for the last time!" 

Fortunately, Sigma's shots were way off, so X and the rest were totally unharmed. Protoman turned to his brother. "But we're not Hunters," he teased in reply to Sigma's boast.

Mega Man grinned. "Then I guess we're still clear to ruin his plans, then."

"Count me in," X replied.

"And me!" chimed in Zero.

"And me!" said Iris.

Zero frowned. "Not this time!"

Iris' jaw dropped. "Whaaat?!"

Zero shook his head. "Listen," he said sternly. "Martial arts isn't gonna do squat against that thing," Zero pointed out at Sigma who was still talking to himself. Apparently he had lost it. "And you don't have a Ride Armor with you this time. You are staying here and keeping an eye on Bass for me." With that he turned and ran out into the open with the others.

Iris began fuming, but then felt a hand grip her wrist. She looked down to see Bass smiling kindly up at her-an expression that seemed to be quite out of place on his face. "Iris. Trust me on this one. Listen to Zero, and stay put."

Iris frowned again, this time in confusion. "But why...?"

Bass painfully sat up and leaned against one of the trees they were hiding amongst in order to get more comfortable. "I know my little bro better than anyone, X included. I think he'd do better in this fight if he knew you were in a relatively safe place."

"But..." Realization hit Iris like a ton of bricks. "He blames himself...doesn't he?"

"For your death?" Bass prompted. "Yeah, I think he does. I mean, he's been blaming himself for almost a year, now. You can't expect a miraculous return to change that right away. Don't worry, though. He'll get over it. Just take's time, that's all."

Iris smiled and sat down next to him. "You know, with an older brother like you, it's no wonder that Zero turned out so great." Iris leaned over and gave Bass a kiss on the cheek. "Thank you."

Bass would have blushed beet red if he had been able to. He'd never realized that being one of the good guys would feel so...well...good. _Makes me regret I hadn't tried it sooner..._he thought to himself.

**************

X, Mega Man, Zero, and Protoman slowly emerged from the cover of the trees. "What's the plan, X?" Zero whispered.

"We do the last thing Sigma would possibly expect us to do," X answered back. "We surrender." The others looked at him blankly for a second, but they gathered from his grin that he was up to something. "Just follow my lead." X stood at the head of the group, his hands held high. "You win Sigma. There's no way we could defeat you now. We give up. We are at your mercy."

Sigma blinked in surprise. "How very...dissapointing," he finally said with his evil grin. "You do realize, of course, that I have no mercy!" He aimed both arms down directly at X, point blank, and the cannons mounted on his wrists began glowing as he charged up the neccesary energy.

"Just what I was counting on," X muttered to himself. He lowered his hands to his sides as if to allow Sigma a better shot, but then he turned his palms up. Mega Man and Protoman, each on either side of him, saw the motion and instantly got what he planned on doing. The split second before Sigma opened fire, X shouted "NOW!" Mega Man and Protoman each leapt onto one of X's hands, who hurled the two smaller robots straight up into the air. Then he and Zero dove out of the way of the shot that would have fried them all.

Sigma had no time to react before they were on him. Mega Man dove at him from above and drove his Fire Sword into Sigma's shoulder, as Protoman pelted him with Flash Bombs. Zero leapt at the Maverick and slashed him a few times with his saber as X fired a rapid volley from his X-Buster.

The element of surprise had been on the good guys' side, but it didn't last long. Sigma easily swatted the attacking robots away and followed up with a barrage of missiles and energy beams. He damaged all of them pretty badly, but they still stumbled to their feet, ready to continue the fight. "Well...that went well," Protoman had to remark sarcastically.

"Yeah," Mega Man replied. "And to make matters worse, my Fire Sword's out of energy."

"So's my Flash Bombs."

Sigma began laughing again. "Face it, fools. You lose. I will destroy you now and then it will only be a matter of time before the human race follows!"

At that moment, several spinning blades flew in from seemingly nowhere, surrounded Sigma, then erupted into many pillar-like whirlwinds, trapping him. Tengu Man landed in front of the stunned brothers. "Hi, guys!" he said cheerfully, before anyone could respond. "Chip saw Siggy here on his City-Wide-Network-Thingie and thought you might appreciate some help. 

"He was right," X spoke up. "Did anyone else come with you?"

"Take a look," Tengu Man replied and pointed down one of the streets.

The others turned to look and saw Colonel himself, on one of the high-class triranium hoverbikes, leading what seemed to be the entire squad of Maverick Hunters, each on a less expensive, less durable bike. Protoman grinned. "Looks like the cavalry's come...again."

************

At first, the battle seemed to be in favor of the Hunters, but as the minutes passed and the casualty list went up, it was apparent that Sigma's new Kaiser form was much more powerful than any he had in the past. "It's no use," one Hunter was saying to Colonel. "He's already taken out almost a third of the force already. There's no way we can keep this up!" Colonel was sporting some severe wounds himself. "I'm afraid you're right. We're going to have to fall back."

Everyone was surprised when a barrage of missiles plastered Sigma in the back. Everyone looked up and gasped. What they saw looked like a Ride Armor, but it was at least three times bigger than any at MHHQ. One arm ended in a fist, while the other ended in the Kangaroo's trademarked rotary drills. On it's shoulders and thighs were rocket launchers and it used its improved Hawk flight mechanisms to slowly descend to the ground. The cockpit was enclosed in a glasslike dome, and inside were two operators. Dr. Wily and Dr. Light. "Hi, Sigma. Fancy running into you here," Wily joked.

Sigma merely laughed. "Wily. You of all people should know that I am now invincible."

"Not true," Wily replied. "I built that body of yours so I know all of its weaknesses." With that, the new "Super-Mech" punched Sigma in the face, sending him reeling. The attack was followed by another punch with the drill arm, finished off by a barrage of missiles. Sigma growled and retaliated with a barrage of his own. When the smoke cleared, the mech was damaged and sparking, bus still very much active. 

The fight went like this for a minute or so, before Dr. Light decided to put an end to it. "Albert," he said patiently. "You've had your fun, now lets finish this fight."

Wily grinned. "Yes, lets." With that, he and Dr. Light imputed one last set of commands into the controls of the mech. The drill arm began to spin and the motor began to rev. Before Sigma could grasp what was happening, the mech shot forward and impaled Sigma, causing sparks and motor oil to fly everywhere. Wily could not resist one last razz. "So long, Sigma. Hope you had a blast!" 

With that, a metal covering slid over the dome, the back of the mech opened up, and Wily's trademarked blue and yellow saucer shot out of it, seconds before the mech exploded, taking Sigma with it. Sigma let out one last, drawn out "NOOOOOOOO!" before the fireball engulfed him completely.

Silence prevailed as bits of metal plastic and silicon rained over the battlefield. After a moment, the saucer landed and Dr. Light and Dr. Wily scrambled out of it. "That was fun," Wily commented. "We should do it again."

Dr. Light shook his head. "Not on your life." That was when he saw Mega Man, being helped to his feet by Protoman. "Rock!" He called as he ran over. "Are you alright? You look terrible!" 

Mega Man had to laugh. "Don't worry Doc. I'll be fine. Just need a couple days rest, that's all."

In the minutes that followed, Dr. Light demanded to examine his robots immediately for any serious damage, Iris leapt into Zero's arms and he spun her around in an almost movie-like scene which caused X to pretend to stick a finger in his throat and gag, the wounded and dead were carted off by the med team lead by a Reploid named Lifesaver, and things seemed to be returning to normal, in general.

As a pair of medical drones carted Bass into one of the transports, Wily was yelling at him. "You idiot!!! How could you let yourself get put in a state like this!? I have half a mind to deactivate you!"

"Oh stuff it, Doc," Bass replied, though there was a hint of a smile on his face.

Rock watched the scene and had to laugh. "Well, it's nice to see that they're back to normal," he said to X who was standing with him.

"Yeah..." X responded, though his thoughts were elsewhere. Once again, Doppler was freed of the influences of the Maverick Virus, only to be destroyed. Once again, he and his best friend were forced to do battle. Once again, numerous humans and Reploids had given their lives for the cause. Still, things were not quite back to normal. There was still the matter of fixing the timeline. But at least they had won. And that was good enough for now.


	21. Tying Up Loose Ends

Chapter 20

Tying Up Some Loose Ends

Rock, Hadrian, X, Zero, Roll, and Iris each sat patiently in the waiting room of the Reploid Repair Ward at Maverick Hunter Headquarters. All of them had been given a clear bill of health from Lifesaver himself and had rested for the last couple of days to allow their Auto Repair Systems to do their thing. Bass, however had been in a much worse state of affairs and had stayed in critical condition for the last week. Each of the six robots was lost in his or her own thoughts. 

Finally, the gate opened with a _clank_ and Lifesaver emmerged with a rare grin. He was actually quite an imposing Reploid at seven feet tall and a face that was drawn in a serious expression ninety percent of the time. "That Bioroid's systems are amazing!" he said almost to himself. "No Reploid could have survived the internal damages he took without extensive surgery­many of his systems had been burned completely away­and yet he had literally regrown much of them just by hooking him up to a supply of energy!" 

Zero and Iris dropped their jaws. Unlike Rock, Roll, and Hadrian­who were Bioroids themselves­and X­who now remembered what it was like to be one­they had no idea that a living machine could do that. "In fact," Lifesaver went on. "Here he is now." 

The tall Reploid doctor scuffled aside and allowed Bass to enter the room. He was in a plain black tee shirt and geans and wore no helmet, allowing his somewhat wild blonde hair to go free. "Bass!" Roll cried as she leapt from her chair to engulf Bass in a monster bear hug. 

Bass laughed. "Hi Roll." Then he looked up with a somewhat unreadable expression on his face. "Hi, Rock." 

Rock grinned, but remained silent. 

Lifesaver grew stern. "If you have any ideas of going home, now, you can forget it. Bass's systems are almost up to their peak, but they are still somewhat weak. Any usage of the alien energy inside of him during the next twenty four hours or so, even a minor usage, could put him right back here. He will be able to take you home tomorrow at the very earliest." 

X looked about to object, but realized the futility of it and said instead, "Well, as long as you're gonna stay here, you might as well join the party." 

"Party?" Rock asked confusedly. 

X nodded. "A war is pretty stressful both on the body and in the mind, you know." 

Rock grinned. "Boy do I," he muttered. 

"Well, in order to try and keep some semblance of sanity around here, we throw a party at MHHQ after all major battles. Just to allow the Hunters involved to relax." 

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Hadrian asked excitedly. "Let's party!" 

**************

Rock whistled appreciatively when he and the others entered the recreation hall. The place was packed, and music played in the background thanks to a small group of Hunters who had formed a band. Zero and Iris wandered off instantly to dance, as did Bass and Roll. Hadrian grinned at his brother. "Nice shindigs, eh?" he asked. 

Rock nodded. "Very nice." 

Before anyone else could say anything a cry interrupted them. "Omygosh! It's _Protoman!_" 

X, Rock, and Hadrian turned to find a young blonde woman running toward them. Hadrian coughed. "Er, do I know you?" he asked. 

The woman laughed. "The name's Kallie. Kalinka Cossack was my grandmother! I've wanted to meet you my whole life. C'mon, let's dance!" 

With that, Kallie grabbed Hadrian by the wrist and dragged him off to the dance floor. Hadrian cast a look at his friends behind him that clearly said _help me!_ but X and Rock merely shrugged and tried their best not to laugh outright. "C'mon," Rock chuckled. "We might as well find a table." 

*************

"I must say you took the news really well," Rock was saying later. 

X blinked. "What news?" 

"Well, that thing about Zero being created by Dr. Wily. If I had known that my best friend was made by that scumbag, I don't think I'd take it as calmly as you did." 

X grinned. "Well, we did have other things on our mind, and I was still recovering from the thought that I might actually get to meet Dr. Light." 

Rock smiled sadly. "Sorry he wouldn't have been able to answer any of your questions." 

X shrugged. "S'okay," he admitted. "I've gotten over it. Anyways, I guess I've learned that it doesn't matter what a persons origins are so much as the person he is now." He grinned. "Now, what's up with Bass. Id've thought you'd object to your sister having a thing for your number one rival." 

Rock sighed as he watched the two in question dance. "Y'know, it's not even Bass that has me worried as such. When we get back home, the two of us will be on opposite sides again. I don't even know how I'm gonna respond to that, let alone Roll." Rock sighed again. "I think my life got a whole lot more complicated." 

X smiled wistfully as his gaze shifted to Zero and Iris. "Gee, why does that sound familiar?" he muttered under his breath. 

Rock changed the subject. "This music sucks," he spoke up. "I say we go and do something about it." 

X grinned. He knew what Rock was thinking, but he asked anyways. "Like what?" 

Rock grinned. 

*******************

During a brief intermission, Rock, Hadrian, Zero, Bass, and X stepped onto the stage. "Okay, boys," X said cheerfully. "Our turn." 

One of the Reploids turned to him in surprise. "You're kidding, right?" 

X grinned. "Watch how you talk to your _commanding officer_, Crash." 

Another one made a very impolite noise. "X, we're all off duty and you know it." 

X shrugged. "Maybe so, Burn, but that changes in a couple of days, and I have a very good memory." 

Not much more convincing was needed to get the band to surrender their instruments. Hadrian went over to the electric keyboard. "Woah, momma!" he gasped. "Lookie at all the special effects on this thing! I think I'm in heaven!" 

Zero situated himself a the drum set, as Bass took (what else?) bass guitar, and Rock and X took lead and backup guitar respectively. Rock tapped the mike before him. "Okay, guys, gals, and 'Ploids!" he said. "You're previously scheduled program has been interrupted by us, Cold Steel! Now prepare to rock!" Cheers went up among a greater portion of the crowd. "We're gonna start with a golden oldie that I think fits the occasion." Rock then turned away from the crowd and gave the rest of the group the tempo, then the song started. "It's the end of the world as we know it! It's the end of the world as we know it! It the end of the world as we know it, and I feeeeel fiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiine!" 

*****************

The next day, it was decided that Bass was well enough to take those of his time period home. They all gathered outside of the Hunter Tower, along with X, Zero, Iris, Colonel, and Tengu Man. Dr. Wily sulked at a distance as the others said goodbye. "You sure you're gonna be okay in this era?" Bass asked Tengu Man. 

The taller robot shrugged. "Sure. Now that I'm a Reploid, I don't really belong in the past anymore, and since I beat that Maverick Virus thing, the Hunters have taken me on, so it's not a big deal." 

X and Rock gripped hands. "Well, see ya," Mega Man said with a grin. 

X grinned. "I hope not." 

Bass gave Zero one last brotherly embrace, then separated from the group a ways. "I guess we can't do anymore damage around this popsicle stand, so I say it's time to blow this joint." 

With a quick set of commands in his teleporter, Bass summoned another vortex, now blue instead of purple. "Good guys, first," he remarked with a smirk. "This'll take you to Dr. Light's lab." Dr. Light, Rush, and Roll went through first, and Hadrian and Rock were about to follow, when Bass stopped them. "Oh, by the way. Check your closets when you get there. I left Cossack and Kalinka tied up in one of them. The two brothers smirked and nodded before leaping into the funnel of light. "Okay, Doc," Bass nodded to Wily. "Your turn." 

"It's about bloody time you got to me!" Wily yelled angrily. "I created you! You should have put me above all the others! I ought to shut you­!" 

"Aw, shut up!" Bass interrupted as he pushed the old man in before he could continue. Finally he turned to the assembled Reploids. "See ya!" He said with a grin and a salute before he leapt in after his creator. 

"Well," X stated. "I guess things are gonna return to normal around...waitasec!" X noticed that the warp had yet to close. In fact, it was beginning to draw the air around it into itself, like a vacuum. 

"That can't be good," Zero agreed. 

Suddenly the vacuum effect intensified, and Iris, by far the lightest of the group, was sent hurtling toward the warp. "Heeeeeey!" she cried out in surprise. 

"Gotcha!" Zero quipped as he managed to grab one of her hands with both of his own. Zero was being anchored by X, who had one had around his partner's waist and the other around a street light. Tengu Man and Colonel were far enough away to not be affected by the suction. 

"Zero, I can't hold on!" Iris gasped a split second before her hand slipped out of his. With a scream, Iris literally flew backwards and into the warp. 

"Iris!" Zero yelled as he wrenched X's arm from around his waist and leapt in after her. 

X shook his head. "Man, I just know I'm gonna hate myself in the mornin'..." he muttered before he let go of the light fixture and allowed himself to be sucked in as well. Once he had entered the warp it dissapeard, leaving Colonel and Tengu Man staring in shock. 

Before any of them could find their tongues, a voice spoke up from behind. "'Scuse me, do either of you know how I could get in touch with Mega Man X?" 

"Sorry," Tengu Man quipped wryly as he turned around. "Just missed him." When he saw who had addressed him, Tengu Man was rendered speachless again. Standing before him was a rather small and wiry man, about X's height and build. He wore a leather jacket, faded blue geans and wore a pair of sunglasses, which matched his midnight black hair perfectly. Most telling about him was that he wore a yellow, moth eaten scarf around his neck. 

The newcommer groaned with a wry grin. "I don't believe this. After all this trouble I went through to set up a family reunion, my little bro up and skipped the party!" 


	22. Epilogue

Epilogue

20XX A.D. About a week after the events in Chapter 1... 

Bass was pacing around his room again, restless. Treble, used to this behavior from his master by now, merely rumbled an annoyed growl and lied on the bed. Bass stopped for a moment to glance out his window at the Earth below. _Living in space does have its advantages_, he thought to himself. Then he continued with his pacing. Finally he came to his desk. He plopped down on the chair and removed his helmet, looking at his reflection in the mirror. He sighed and drew from a desk drawer a photograph of Roll. Earlier words were now coming back to haunt him. 

_If you hate Wily so much, then why do you work for him?_ her voice rang as clear now as it had back then. 

"Why do I still work for the old coot?" Bass muttered. Before it had been his hatred for Mega Man that kept him with Wily. But he no longer hated Mega Man anymore, so what was the point? 

Finally, Bass came to a decision. He stood up abruptly and replaced his helmet. "C'mon, Treb!" he called to his dog. "We're leaveing!" 

Bass stormed through the hallways of Wily's space fortress with a purpose. Finally he came to it. A cleverly hidden teleportation hatch, capable of sending anyone who stepped into it down to the planet below. Bass set the controls to set him down on a certain coordinance down on the planet below, then randomized the computer so that Wily wouldn't be able to easily follow him. When he was done, Bass took one last look down the empty hallways. "So long, Doc. You gave me some of the worst years of my life. I'm gonna miss you..." 

With that, Bass stepped into the hatch, and in a flash of violet, he was gone. 

**The End? Not by a long shot...**


End file.
